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FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC played out an exciting 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Indian Super League semi-final. Despite dominating for large parts of the game, the hosts could not finish their moves and this enabled the visitors back into the match.
Chennayin head into the second leg with a precious away goal and will no doubt be the happier side after Saturday night's clash. Here are the major talking points from entertaining game.
#1 Mandar Rao Desai, in his zone, and runs riot
Goa's very own was in his element and put on a show for the packed audience at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. While all eyes were on the home side's foreign recruits, it was Mandar Rao who took the initiative and caused havoc down the left wing.
Operating as an inverted winger, Rao was a live-wire, twisting and turning his markers, with relative ease. His unpredictability triumphed Chennaiyin's disciplined and rigid approach. Whenever he was presented with the opportunity, Mandar didn't think twice before marauding down the left wing with pace and intent.
More importantly, he kept a calm head and was equally mindful of his defensive duties. On the occasions when he did lose the ball, he did well to press the defenders and pile on the pressure. He played a crucial role in Goa's first goal.
#2 Ahmed Jahouh lives on edge but crucial for Goa
Not for the first time this season, Goa's Moroccan recruit was living life in the fast lane as he continued to plunge into extremely dangerous tackles, some from behind and borderline injury-causing.
On one such occasion, he rammed into Chennai's Calderon, who doesn't usually go down easily. This time though, Jahouh sliced his studs onto the Argentine's leg as the camera panned towards his bleeding cut.
But that didn't deter Jahouh one bit. He continued to be a thorn and did well to harry Chennai's midfielders off the ball, rarely giving them time to ponder. His approach may have been dangerous but it was surely effective as he was largely successful in stifling Chennai's creative players.
#3 Chennai happy to absorb pressure in the first half
The visitors came into this clash in good form but little did they expect to be defending for large parts of the first half. Chennai were pegged back but they never looked nervous.
The southern outfit looked like a well drilled defensive unit and they did well to keep The Gaurs at bay for the opening 45 minutes. The likes of Francis, Calderon, Jeje and Augusto had to be content with playing on the counter.
When they did have the ball, Chennaiyin did well to keep hold of it. They didn't create too many clear-cut openings but their ability to stay calm amidst wave after wave of attacks from Goa held them in good stead. John Gregory's men looked a mature and solid unit despite not dominating.
#4 Game opens up massively in the second half
Having failed to pile on the pressure in the first half, FC Goa amped it up in the second and the crowd went bonkers every time they built their attack from the back. The home side looked to have only one objective -- to reach the opposite end of the pitch in the quickest way possible.
On several occasions, they committed as many as 8 men in Chennai's half, thus signalling their intent. While they did leave spaces wide open at the back, Chennai hardly had a sniff of the ball to create any problems.
The visitors were made to run the miles in their attempt to thwart the Gaurs and they did pretty well. For close to 25 minutes in the second half, Goa's attacks were non-stop and a goal seemed imminent. It finally came in the 64th-minute, courtesy Lanzarote who scored his 13th of the season.
#5 Thapa equalises against the run of play
Nobody in the stadium saw this coming. Goa were dominating through and through, and out of nowhere, Anirudh Thapa coolly slotted home to give Chennai a crucial equaliser against the run of play.
The substitute had only spent 10 minutes on the pitch but made an instant impact, taking his first chance of the match with confidence. Gregory Nelson did the hard-work before he cleverly found Thapa on the right, who did well to peel away from his marker and found himself in a 1v1 situation with Goa keeper, Kattimani.
The 20-year old didn't blink and slashed the ball between Kattimani's legs to silence the home crowd who looked shocked. That move was a sign of a confident team that did not throw in the towel despite being on the receiving end of consistent pressure throughout the match.
