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East Bengal continued their winning form against Chennai City FC at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in Coimbatore with a 2-1 win over the hosts. The Kolkata Giants were able to see off some late pressure from Chennai to secure all three points on the night.
Goals from Katsumi Yusa and Charles D'Souza were enough for the Red and Golds on the night to overcome Chennai who tried to pull things back with a goal from Romario Jesuraj towards the end of the first half.
The result meant that East Bengal have now leapfrogged their rivals Mohun Bagan in the league table, securing the second position with a tally of 10 points while Chennai City are languishing at seventh place with just 4 points despite playing more games than the teams below them.
Without further delay, let's have a closer look at the five key talking points from the game:
#1 Poor pitch condition stands out
The poor condition of the playing surface at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in Coimbatore will be a key area of concern for Chennai City and the sides who will be visiting the stadium in the future. The pitch was quite easily the worst we've seen in the I-League so far this season and the authorities will have to address the issue sooner rather than later to avoid further embarrassment.
Chennai City would have loved to play under better conditions in their first home game of the season considering the fact that as many as 13,000 people turned up in Coimbatore to cheer for the home side. However, it was the playing surface that stood out due to its poor condition and the team could do well with a better turf that can boast of grass rather than patches.
#2 Chennai City need results
Chennai City will have to string together a few results if they are to stay away from trouble during the business end of the season. It was always going to be tough against one of the league's heavyweights in the form of East Bengal but the fact that they have managed to lose against the likes of newcomers Indian Arrows and NEROCA FC in the previous rounds didn't help them either.
Chennai have played 6 games so far this season, the highest by any team in the division, and have mustered just a single win over Churchill Brothers who are at the bottom of the table. They have also conceded the second-highest number of goals in the competition and these are indeed worrying times for Soundrarajan's side.
#3 Mahmoud Al Amna shows his class
The Syrian midfielder was yet again the lynchpin of East Bengal's midfield as he worked tirelessly for the Red and Golds throughout the game. Al Amna played a key role in both the goals scored by East Bengal and was the chief conductor behind his side's efforts on goal.
The midfielder displayed a keen eye for playing his teammates through on goal at a few instances and was a handful for the opposition. Al Amna's form will be a huge boost for the East Bengal side who will be hoping that he can replicate what he did for Aizawl FC last year, in a season that helped them register a historic feat by winning the national league title.
Al Amna is slowly starting to show the shades of his diverse skill set after succumbing to a slow start with his new club in this edition of the I-League.
#4 Lapse in concentration cost Chennai dearly
Chennai City could only blame themselves for the manner in which they conceded the goals on the night after a few defensive howlers invited East Bengal to take full advantage. Perhaps the situation could have been avoided if they were more focused at the mammoth task of keeping the likes of Willis Plaza and Katsumi Yusa quiet throughout the game.
However, the opportunities were rather put on a plate for the visitors when they failed to clear the ball away before Yusa waited for a tap-in at the far post in the 27th minute. That was not the end of it and things went from bad to worse when Charles D'Souza was gifted the ultimate opportunity to score against his former team following a failed clearance that allowed the Brazilian to score with his head.
Soundrarajan will be disappointed with the way in which his side dug their own graves and they need to be more disciplined at the back if they are to turn their fortunes around.
#5 East Bengal's holy trinity is finally up and running
Before the beginning of the season, a lot of hopes were placed on East Bengal's attacking trio of Willis Plaza, Katsumi Yusa and Mahmoud Al Amnah. However, they were finding it difficult to emulate what was expected of them during the early stages of the season and if the performance today is anything to go by then we can be assured that they are up and running.
Despite the poor condition of the playing surface, East Bengal's holy trinity found their stride on numerous occasions in the first half and combined well to cause all kinds of problems to the Chennai defenders. It almost seemed as if there was a telepathic connection between Al Amnah and Yusa while Plaza continued to hold up the ball to try and involve his teammates into the thick of the action.
The trio's ability to find a breakthrough in the toughest of situations will be a vital cog in East Bengal's chances of winning their maiden league title.
