'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The league leaders Chennai City FC drew 0-0 with the defending champions Minerva Punjab at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium.
The battle between the best attacking side and the best defensive side turned out to be a cagey affair that never got off to a start as midfield battles enraged over the 90 minutes without any conclusive action at either end of the pitch.
The home team made two changes from their victory against East Bengal as Bhaskar Roy replaced Arshdeep Singh between the sticks and Bala Dahir giving way to Yu Kibaki.
Akbar Nawas just made one change to the league leaders from their draw with Mohun Bagan as Pravitto Raju made way for Mashoor Thengalakath.
In an otherwise restricted match, Minerva Punjab hit the post in the 90th minute and earned a penalty as the ball bounced back to a Minerva player who was fouled inside the penalty area.
Yu Kuboki, the Japanese No.10 stepped up to take the penalty but fired it straight at the young Spanish goalkeeper, Nauzet Santana who managed to make the relatively easy save.
Let's look at 3 reasons why Chennai City FC drew with Minerva Punjab.
#3 Chennai City forwards lacked urgency
The league leaders had scored 16 goals in 7 matches prior to this match, scoring more than 2 goals per match on average. But, Nawas' men failed to break down a resilient Minerva Punjab defence which has only conceded 5 goals in this season.
Romario proved to be the only shining light in the away side's rich attacking assets with Pedro Manzi, Ajith Kumar and Charles Lourdusamy showing very little intent in creating chances or running behind the defenders.
Joint leading goalscorer for Chennai City FC, Nestor Gordillo was isolated up front on the left hand side with very little service while Pedro Manzi missed a couple of chances early in the first half.
#2 Chennai City midfield lacked creativity
The fact that Chennai City FC have scored 16 goals in 7 matches has been down to their creative midfielders and forwards supporting each other. It was an off day for Sandro Rodriguez who could not affect the match in any manner with Manzi and Gordillo not coordinating well enough on the left side.
Midfielder Gaurav Bora playing in defence allows the league leaders to play out comfortably from the back and build dangerous attacks but the holding midfielder's passing on Sunday looked a bit wayward and lacked precision.
#1 Minerva Punjab proving tough to break down
The defending champions won the league last season as they scored 24 goals and conceded only 16 goals in 18 matches, letting in less than 1 goal per match.
While they had to part with some of their best defenders from last season's success with the duo of Sukhdev Singh and Abhishek Ambedkar poached away by giants Mohun Bagan. New signings like Lacine Toure have ensured that the side from Punjab remains tight at back this season as well.
The management duo of Sachin Badhade and Paul Munster have ensured that they are tough to break down even this season as they have only conceded 5 goals in the first 8 matches of the season maintaining the lofty standards they set last season.
