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FC Pune City registered the first win of the campaign with a resounding 4-1 win at the home of the reigning champions, ATK. Coming to Kolkata on the back of a 3-2 loss against Delhi Dynamos, Pune turned on the heat in the second half and completely took ATK apart.
Marcelinho was the star of the match and was involved in all the four goals for the Stallions' goals. He scored two and assisted two more, while Emiliano Alfaro scored in the second match running while creating one for his strike partner.
The only positive for Kolkata from this game was Bipin Singh's stunning freekick from 30 yards out. On that note, let's delve a little deeper and look at the five talking points from the entertaining encounter from the Salt Lake Stadium.
#5 A tale of two halves for Kamaljit Singh
FC Pune City's custodian was under the scanner after conceding three goals against the Dynamos. He looked edgy in the first half with his clearances not being strong enough, his communication with the defenders was not up to the mark and his distribution, substandard.
But a break saw a turn of events in Singh's performance as the halftime talk looked to have done loads of wonder for the 21-year-old. In the final 45 minutes, Kamaljit looked confident in coming off his line making some decent saves along the way. He made a brilliant save from a stinging Robin Singh shot and helped Pune pile on the pressure.
#4 Njazi Kuqi impresses for ATK but fails to receive the service
The Finnish striker is a traditional number 9, who thrives on crosses into the box and likes to use his strength to link up with his teammates. Kuqi did his part brilliantly for the entirety of the game, winning the majority of his aerial duels, passing it well and getting in good positions.
But the problem was that he did not receive a single decent cross in his stride until the 80th minute. ATK had a striker with his distinct skill set but the wingers and the midfielders failed to take advantage of it. He was desperate for better service but failed to receive it.
#3 Emiliano Alfaro-Marcelinho connection beginning to flourish
When the duo signed for the Stallions, expectations were sky-high about Pune possessing a dream duo up front. The opening game couldn't produce much for the duo in tandem but against the defending champions, the Alfaro-Marcelinho partnership saw it's first chapter being written.
Alfaro assisted Marcelinho for the first goal, whereas the Brazilian returned the flavour to help Alfaro net the fourth goal for FC Pune City. The duo looked sharp and were always looking to find one another. Playing as a sole striker with Marcelinho behind him, Alfaro found the Brazilian on a number of occasions while Pune's captain dazzled with his skills and experience.
#2 Defensive mistakes cost ATK the match
Despite going behind in the first half, ATK were better in terms of possession and recycling the ball and looked dangerous going forward. The wingers along with the striker were decent individually but it was the entire backline along with the goalkeeper which failed to impress.
For the first goal, Tom Thorpe missed a simple long ball which made Emiliano Alfaro run at the goal freely. Keeper Debjit did not charge for the second goal with the ball being just 5-6 yards away from a corner. For the third goal, Prabir Das' poorly headed clearance kept ATK in the danger whereas it was a poor throw in from Zequinha which led to the fourth Pune goal.
#1 Magical Marcelinho
Last season's golden boot winner was subdued in the first match for his new club but against ATK, Marcelinho showed just why he was the most sought-after foreign name in the transfer window. The forward and Pune's captain opened his account for the new season with a first-time sweet finish to give Pune a 1-0 lead.
His delivery then enabled Rohit Kumar to make it two while his deflected shot made it three with the ATK goalkeeper left flat-footed. He then sent Alfaro through on goal for the fourth and completed a brilliant outing for the Stallions with two goals and two assists. It was a stunning performance and also, a warning sign for the other competitors for his golden boot award.
