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Chennaiyin FC put their league disappointments away with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Mumbai City FC at Kalinga Stadium, Bhuvneshwar in the Hero Super Cup. It was an equal clash during the first half an hour of the game, but John Gregory's men lead their opponents in the first half with a stupendous striker from CK Vineeth.
The striker scored a ripper from outside the box to hand no chance to the goalkeeper Ravi. The lead soon got double when Vineeth won the ball up front to pass it to the substitute Thoi Singh. The winger found Jeje Lalpekhlua, who scored from his first touch to see the net bulge.
With this victory, John Gregory's men qualified for the Quarterfinals of the Super Cup as they strive to win a silverware this season. On the other hand, Jorge Costa will be disappointed with the poor display from his side against the leading Indian Super League winners.
In this article, we shall look at five talking points from Chennaiyin's victory over Mumbai City FC.
#1 CK Vineeth makes the difference up front
When CK Vineeth moved from Kerala to their arch-rivals Chennaiyin FC on loan, there were a lot of expectations from the forward. He was able to score only once in the second part of the season, which turned out to be a disappointment for John Gregory's men.
Albeit his poor form in the league, he helped his side to clinch a victory against Mumbai City FC. When the game cried out for inspiration during the first half of the game, the striker's menacing strike from outside the box dismantled the confidence of Jorge Costa's side in the 42nd minute.
A minute later, Vineeth won the ball from the feet of the attacker to pass the ball to the winger Thoi Singh, who set up Jeje Lalpekhlua.
The Chennaiyin FC striker scored from his first touch to enter the second half with a two-goal cushion. Even though Mailson won the man of the match, CK Vineeth's decisiveness in the final third of the game proved to be the pivotal moments in the game.
#2 Mumbai City are not learning from their earlier lessons
Jorge Costa and Mumbai City are not learning their lessons. During the first half an hour of the game, they were relentlessly running when Chennaiyin FC were passing the ball around to fizzle them out. John Gregory's plan worked out to perfection as the Blues scored twice before the first half whistle to win the game comfortably.
The exact game plan succeeded for FC Goa in the semifinals where they were rampant in front of goal to win 5-1. Noticing that, the Blues took advantage when Mumbai were slowly moving the ball for the half time whistle. Costa will be furious with the second goal because it was very poorly conceded.
CK Vineeth plucked straight from the defenders feet to set up Jeje Lalpekhlua. Costa has extended his contract with Mumbai City FC, but they need to work on the game plan for the next campaign.
#3 Chris Herd's phenomenal performance
An injury crisis and Germanpreet Singh's poor form meant that the club needed to buy an astute defensive midfielder. Chris Herd was signed in the winter transfer window and he has made the difference by cutting down the leakage of goals at the back.
Winning the midfield battle with Anirudh Thapa against Sanju Pradhan, Milan Singh, and Raynier Fernandes, the Blues were able to run the show and cause plenty of chances for their forwards. Herd provided much-needed freedom for the full-backs to double up with the wingers and full-backs of Mumbai City FC.
Besides providing freedom to the full-backs, the Australian international stopped Mumbai City attackers from running past him during the whole game. The defensive midfielder will be key for Chennaiyin's hopes of landing a silverware this campaign. With Dhanpal Ganesh fit again, he could form a pivotal partnership in the middle of the park.
#4 Sanju Pradhan, Milan Singh, and Raynier Fernandes struggled to match up with Chennaiyin's intensity
Mumbai's midfield did most of the running during the first half of the game and lost energy despite playing with ardor throughout the game. Sanju Pradhan, Milan Singh, and Raynier Fernandes did a lot of running and struggled to cope up with the intensity of the game.
They were lucky to get away with yellow cards after making a couple of rash tackles on Chris Herd and Anirudh Thapa. The midfielders had the necessity to sit back with the defenders and bail out their team, but the Chennaiyin FC attackers took advantage of the situation to kill the game off in the first half.
Jorge Costa will not be content with the performance of his midfield as they failed to link up with the forwards and assist their defence after they weren't energized.
#5 Mailson and Renthlei dealt with long balls very well
Mumbai City FC had the plan to win the midfield battle during the first half. Simultaneously, one of their attackers would be running behind the defenders to explore the possibility of a counter attack.
When the wingers were doubling up on Renthlei and Mailson Alves, the duo did well to give no headaches for their goalkeeper Karanjit Singh. Since they struggled to move the ball faster, Costa had the plan to cause havoc through long balls, but it did not pay off as the midfielders and wingers lost their energy in the first half itself.
Mailson won plenty of aerial duels in the first half to give assurance to his side defensively. Renthlei decided to stay with the defense during the first thirty minutes of the game before moving further higher up the pitch and link up with the attackers.
