Reliving the most exciting match of the week: Kerala Blasters 2-3 Atletico de Kolkata

Arata Izumi stole a win for Atletico with his goal late in the match

Kerala Blasters and Atletico de Kolkata locked horns in the first game of Round 10 fixtures, and it turned out to be one of the most exciting games seen in this season of the Indian Super League.

Before going into the game, Blasters were sitting at the bottom of the table with just 8 points from 8 games, while Atletico de Kolkata were at sixth in the standings with 10 points.

Kolkata have looked impressive playing away from home, having already picked up wins against favourites Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC, and a draw against FC Goa. On the other hand, Kerala Blasters have earned all their 8 points at home, with wins against NorthEast United FC and Pune City FC.

The reverse fixture played at Atletico’s home ground ended in 2-1 win for the defending champions, with goals coming from Arata Izumi and Javi Lara, and to make things interesting, those were the only three points Atletico de Kolkata had managed at home so far in the tournament.

The away side, who hadn’t kept a clean sheet yet in the tournament, went into the game with a back three of Denzil Franco, Ofentse Nato and Tiri, while Rino Anto and Nallapan Mohanraj started as wingbacks.

Both of Atletico's wing-backs played well and their performances did not go in vain, as Anto was declared the Emerging Player of the Match for his efforts as he combined bombing forward with falling back while on defence.

Kerala Blasters, who had earlier also played with a back three under Peter Taylor, opted for a back four under new boss Terry Phelan.

Both sides had a few chances in the opening minutes of the game to take the lead, but it was Nallapan Mohanraj who opened the scoring for the defending champions in the 27th minute of the game. He was left unmarked at the back post, and made no mistake while heading home a delightful cross from Jamie Gavilan. That piece of smart play from Mohanraj won him the Swift Moment of the Match.

Kerala Blasters, who had started the game a bit defensively started to attack only after going a goal down. Antonio German, a youth product of the Queens Park Rangers academy, was left on the bench by new boss Terry Phelan, but was brought on in the 36th minute after former Arsenal man Sanchez Watt had to leave the field due to an injury. German though did very well and was declared the Hero of the Match for his performance.

Antonio German's two goals almost saw Kerala take home 3 points

German had the opportunity to give his team the lead just a couple of minutes after coming on, from Dagnall’s cross but couldn’t finish. The 23-year-old made up for his earlier miss by converting from the spot after Josu won Kerala Blasters a penalty. The scoreline remained 1-1 at the break, and German was instrumental in Kerala Blasters’ sudden surge in performance.

Iain Hume soldiered on admirably for Atletico, but he had nothing to show for all his tireless running and attempts to get in behind the defence. His efforts though didn't go unrecognised and he was given the Fittest Player of the Match award.

At the start of the second half too, it was the home team who had more clearcut chances and the likes of Mohammed Rafi, Chris Dagnall and Antonio German particularly did well for the Blasters. German had a couple of opportunities to put Kerala Blasters ahead, but it was substitute Arata Izumi who gave the defending champions the lead in the 84th minute.

The Japanese-born Indian footballer did well to outfox Bheke and his shot, which looked like a cross, ended up in the Kerala goal.

The smiles in the Atletico de Kolkata dugout didn’t last long as it was Antonio German once again who played party pooper, leveling it up for Kerala Blasters just a minute later. Pulga’s cross fell to German after deflecting off Nato, and he did well to put it past Amrinder Singh in a crowded penalty box.

Once again it looked like both teams were going to share the points, but it was Atletico’s super sub Arata Izumi, who had the last laugh as he gave his team the lead once again in the last minute of the stoppage time.

Doutie’s low cross inside the box fell to Izumi, who made no mistake in putting it past Bywater to earn his team another three points on the road.

Overall, both teams would have been happy had the game ended in a draw considering it was evenly matched, but Atletico de Kolkata proved to be more clinical on the day. The defending champions jumped to fourth position after their win, while Kerala Blasters were left to rue their luck.