Chennaiyin FC
Dwayne Kerr – 6/10
Was rarely tested by Atletico expect when they scored. At times when he was asked questions, he reacted sharply to keep the opposition at bay. Some of his goal kicks were poor and could have proved costly.
Mehrajuddin Wadoo – 6/10
Was compact down the right flank which meant Kolkata had to target the opposite flank. Didn’t really pose much of an attacking threat. Played the role of an old school full back and held his position well. Adopted a no nonsense approach and cleared the ball rather than holding up play.
Bernard Mendy – 6/10
Made up for Riise’s lacklustre performance with some confident defending. Battled Postiga throughout the match and made a tremendous block to deny the Portuguese, a sure shot goal. Lead the defence well but his teammates let him down.
John Arne Riise – 5/10
Started the game well. Was unlucky not to score. His stinging free kick rebounded off the wall and hit the cross bar. Defensively, he was all over the place. Made a hash of a couple of easy clearances. Was guilty of a foul throw in as well. He gave away the ball cheaply on more than one occasion.
Nallapan Mohanraj – 6/10
Didn’t have too much trouble to deal with but kept it tight at the back. Tired out at the end and was substituted with around 15 minutes to go.
Hans Mulder – 7/10
Extremely solid in midfield. He controlled the middle of the park with poise. Made some fine passes to split open the Kolkata defence. Never static, he was persistent with his passing and helped his side transition from defence to attack. Scored the winner from long range after his shot was heavily deflected past the keeper.
Raphael Augusto 7/10
Was largely responsible for slowing down Atletico’s high tempo game. His hold up play was on point and always made himself available for a pass in the middle of the pitch. Won a large proportion of his 50-50 battles and provided that extra cushion to the back four.
Jayesh Rane – 6/10
Was silent throughout the match till his goal in the second half. He did well to round the keeper and place the ball at the back of the net. Was presented with just one chance on the night and he took it well. Failed to track back when his side were defending.
Baljit Sahni – 5/10
Was largely silent during the first half. Came to life in the second as he began to maraud forward the right flank. He combined well with Wadoo and Mulder but failed to make that final pass from the right. At times, he held the ball for a tad longer than required and was snuffed out of position as a result.
Jeje Lalpekhlua 6/10
Showed glimpses of how dangerous he can be. His well-placed shot coerced keeper Majumder into making a fine save in the first half. Had to fall all back deep to receive the ball on numerous occasions. His shot come pass set up Jayesh for the goal.
Substitutes
Davide Succi 4/10
Found it extremely difficult to impose himself on the match. He failed to combine with Jeje and Coach, Materazzi substituted him for Dudu with twenty minutes’ left.
Dudu – 2/10
Came on late as a substitute, with his side in the lead. As a result, he didn’t receive too many opportunities to make an impact. Had one glorious opportunity to further the lead but botched a sitter with only the keeper to beat.
Jerry Lalrinzuala – 1/10
Came on as a substitute and his only contribution of the match was conceding a penalty.
