SAFF Championship 2021: India 1-1 Bangladesh- 4 things we learned

India started their SAFF Championship 2021 journey by playing out a 1-1 draw against neighbors Bangladesh in the Male Maldives.

Bangladesh came into the game having won against Sri Lanka in their previous game. It was India's first game of the Championship.

The match started with both the teams trying to get an early goal and making sure the opponent didn't settle into the game. However, India took the lead in the 26th minute through a Sunil Chhetri strike. The scoreboard at halftime read 1-0 in favor of the Blue Tigers.

Bangladesh came out with more vigor in the second half and kept troubling the Indian goal. Despite being down to 10 men, Bangladesh managed to secure the equalizer in the 74th minute. Yeasin Arafat scored from a Jamal Bhuyan corner. Thus, the match ended 1-1.

On that note, let us take a look at four things we learned from today's game.

#4 Sunil Chhetri: The Savior

Udanta turned provider for Sunil Chhetri yet again.

Indian football fans and followers have lost count of the number of times Sunil Chhetri has rescued the team from a tight situation. The captain gave the Blue Tigers the lead in the 26th minute when he calmly slotted the ball home from an Udanta Singh cut-back cross.

Chhetri didn't have the best AFC Cup campaign in the Maldives for Bengaluru FC. So it is an excellent sight for Indian football fans to see the captain getting his name on the scoresheet. If India are to reach the finals of the SAFF Championship, they need their captain to be in top form.

#3 Lacklusture defending hurt India

Chinglensana had a below par performance today.

India played Pritam Kotal, Rahul Bheke, Chinglensana Singh and Subhasish Bose in defense. This is the best combination India can field on paper, given that Sandesh Jhingan is out with injury and currently in Croatia. All the players that started in defense are big names in the Indian football circuit at the moment. But unfortunately, they lacked understanding and were not stable at the back.

The defense had a lot of gaps which the Bangladesh players managed to utilize from time to time. From what was on show today, it seems clear that the Indian backline will take some time to get itself adjusted with each other. The defending during set-pieces was poor throughout and that is what led to the Bangladesh goal as well.

#2 Poor Finishing from both teams

Anisur Rahman Zico denied Manvir a goal on a couple of occasions.

The game ended in a draw, but both teams had their chances to take all three points from the game. India and Bangladesh had golden opportunities to score and take all three points, but the strikers were guilty of squandering excellent chances. However, goalkeepers Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Anisur Rahman Zico made some good saves to ensure that their team didn't end up on the losing side.

Rakib Hossain of Bangladesh was guilty of missing the most straightforward chance of the game when he hit the ball outside from a handshaking distance.

Anisur Rahman made a good double save from Manvir and Chhetri to deny India the winner. Gurpreet made a brilliant diving save from a quick Bangladesh counterattack to ensure India went into the halftime break with the lead intact.

#1 Igor Stimac fails to impress again

Igor Stimac failed to beat a 10 men Bangladesh side.

Igor Stimac's tenure as Indian national team coach hasn't been a rosy affair as of yet. The Croatian coach is treading on thin ice when it comes to the national team. After Igor failed to win games against Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers, many questions were asked about his credibility.

Igor, as of today, has been in charge of 19 games and managed to win just three of those games. During this span, India has struggled to beat teams like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Seeing how things are currently going, the national team doesn't have a pleasing style of football or results. If Igor doesn't win the SAFF Championship, serious questions will be asked regarding his credibility as the Indian National Team coach.

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