Chennaiyin FC 2-1 NorthEast United FC: Player Ratings as Marina Machans go 3rd in ISL 2021-22 table
Chennaiyin FC staged a second-half comeback to pick up a 2-1 victory over NorthEast United FC in Match 62 of the 2021-22 ISL season.
The Marina Machans dominated the opening exchanges, but fell behind after Debjit Majumder fumbled a Highlanders corner. Laldanmawia Ralte stabbed home from close range to give his side the lead.
Chennaiyin FC then stung NorthEast United twice in six minutes during the second half, through Ariel Borysiuk and Vladimir Koman to overturn the deficit. Bozidar Bandovic's side were tested to their limits towards the end, but held on to seal a key victory.
They are now third in the ISL table with 18 points from 12 games, while the Highlanders remain bottom with only nine points from 13 matches. On that note, here are the player ratings for both teams:
Ratings of Chennaiyin FC against NorthEast United FC
Debjit Majumder - 6.5/10
His mistake to concede the goal was poor, but Majumder made up for that in spectacular fashion with multiple stops in the second half. His double save at the death essentially ensured his side all three points from the game.
Narayan Das - 6/10
Das did commit a couple of errors, but was solid overall. He defended his side well on an off-night for Jerry Lalrinzuala.
Slavko Damjanovic - 7.5/10
Damjanovic continues to impress, and has arguably been the best centre-back in this season's ISL. The Serb was almost impenetrable all night, and put in a fabulous display once again to help Chennaiyin FC see the game out at the death.
Mohammad Sajid Dhot - 7/10
Sajid Dhot was a composed presence, and proved an able foil to Damjanovic in the second period after a nervy start to the game. He completed 87.2% of his passes as well.
Jerry Lalrinzuala - 6/10
Lalrinzuala didn't have his best game against NorthEast United, and was often indecisive. He also left Narayan Das with a lot to do at times in defence, though he did make three tackles on the night.
Anirudh Thapa - 7/10
Thapa was at his energetic best once again, constantly trying to make things happen for Chennaiyin FC. He covered plenty of ground, got into some fabulous positions, and always provided a passing outlet for his defence.
Ariel Borysiuk - 7.5/10
Borysiuk did the dirty work in holding midfield to perfection, and his connection with Vladimir Koman seems to be getting better with each game. The Chennaiyin FC midfielder also took his goal well, but he was helped by a massive deflection along the way.
Vladimir Koman - 7.5/10
The Marina Machans look a different team when they have a fit Koman marshalling their midfield.
His free-kick to give them the lead against NorthEast United was inch-perfect, and he also laid out a key pass, made two tackles and won a foul. If the club are to go deep in the tournament, Koman could be the X-factor.
Ninthoinganba Meetei - 5.5/10
Meetei was poor on the right flank, and like Lalrinzuala, he often looked bereft of ideas. He also struggled to deal with NorthEast United's Imran Khan all night, and made quite a few errors that thankfully went unpunished.
Rahim Ali - 6.5/10
Ali got the assist for Borysiuk's goal with a neat lay-off, but spurned a couple of good chances to put Chennaiyin FC ahead in the first half. His influence also seemed to wade a bit in the second half.
Nerijus Valskis - 6/10
Valskis forced one good save from Mirshad Michu, and also played an active role in the early moments to help his team dominate. However, his impact fell by the wayside in the second half.
Chennaiyin FC Substitutes
Edwin Sydney Vanspaul - 6/10
Vanspaul replaced Ali in the 70th minute. He ruined one good attack, but generally helped his team hold on to the ball on the counter.
Lukasz Gikiewicz - 6/10
Gikiewicz came on for Koman in the 76th minute, and helped out defensively towards the end.
Mirlan Murzaev - 6/10
Murzaev replaced Thapa in the 76th minute. He had a couple of chances to drive forward on the counter, but NorthEast United did well to neutralise his impact.
Germanpreet Singh - 5/10
Singh came on for Thapa in injury time, and made a mess of a glorious chance to put the game to bed.
Ratings of NorthEast United against Chennaiyin FC
Mirshad Michu - 6/10
NorthEast United custodian Michu made a good save in the first half. However, he injured himself after being wrong-footed for Chennaiyin FC's equaliser. He misread the situation for the second goal as well before being taken off.
Gurjinder Kumar - 6/10
Kumar didn't offer much going forward, but did well defensively.
Patrick Flottmann - 6.5/10
Flottmann could do nothing about either goal, but tried his best to hold his defence together after Chennaiyin FC's early dominance. He came close to scoring twice in the final minutes, even heading the ball against the frame of goal.
Mashoor Shereef - 6/10
Shereef did well at the heart of the NorthEast United defence, but could've done better with his ball distribution.
Provat Lakra - 6/10
Lakra didn't do too much wrong defensively, but was often poor with his decision-making in the final third.
Hernan Santana - 7/10
Santana was caught ball-watching on a couple of occasions in the first half, but grew into the game. He laid out two key passes, made two tackles, and led his team's siege of Chennaiyin FC's goal in the final ten minutes. However, Santana missed a free header late on to help his team force a share of the spoils.
Sehnaj Singh - 6/10
Singh unfortunately deflected Borysiuk's shot, wrong-footing Michu to give Chennaiyin FC their equaliser. That was only one part of a decent performance, where he could've protected his defence a little more.
Mohammed Irshad Thaivalappil - 6.5/10
Irshad started the game well, often providing an outlet for NorthEast United on the counterattack. However, he didn't make his presence felt in the second half. Irshad recorded two key passes and a tackle on the night, though.
Imran Khan - 7/10
Khan was arguably NorthEast United's best player on the night. He was a menace to the Chennaiyin FC defence, and was particularly a handful for Meetei, who couldn't deal with his pace and movement. Only Khan's final product seemed to be lacking at times.
Khan, though, ended the game with four shots (one on target) and three key passes, and also completed 88.2% of his passes.
Laldanmawia Ralte - 6.5/10
Ralte took his goal well, but that was his only shot on target, and he did little apart from that for NorthEast United.
VP Suhair - 7/10
It was another typically hardworking performance from Suhair, who tirelessly ran the length of the pitch for the entire game against Chennaiyin FC. He often helped his defence when the opposition poured men forward, and also managed a shot on target and two key passes.
NorthEast United Substitutes
Subhasish Roy Chowdhury - 6/10
Chowdhury replaced Michu in the 60th minute, but didn't have much to do for the final thirty minutes.
Marcelinho - 7/10
Marcelinho made an instant impact on his return to the ISL after coming on for Ralte in the 64th minute. He wreaked havoc for his team, and put Chennaiyin FC under all kinds of pressure towards the end of the game with his set-pieces and deliveries into the box.
Marco Sahanek - 7/10
Sahanek replaced Sehnaj Singh in the 64th minute, and was a breath of fresh air for his team. He forced Majumder into two good saves, and sent in some dangerous crosses, which unfortunately didn't yield a goal.
Lalkhawpuimawia - N/A
Lalkhawpuimawia came on for Irshad in the 90th minute, and didn't have much to do despite his team playing on the front foot for much of stoppage time.
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