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I-League champions Chennai City lived up to their reputation when they thrashed Indian Super League side FC Pune City in the Super Cup match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
As most of the I-League have already withdrawn from the tournament, the onus was on Chennai City to keep the reputation of the tournament. They did the job in a brilliant fashion to set-up a mouth-watering clash in the quarter-final, when they face the ISL Champions Bengaluru FC, who got walkover a day before as their opponent Mohun Bagan have not registered players for the tournament. The match will be held on 4th April.
Pedro Manzi scored another routine hat-trick with Sandro Rodriguez scoring the other. Marcelinho and Marko Stankovic scored for Pune City.
On that note, let us analyse the talking points of the game:
#5 Another day, another hat-trick for Manzi
It may be a different tournament altogether, but for Pedro Manzi, the form remains the same. Just like I-League, he marked his debut in the Super Cup memorable with a hat-trick, his fifth of the season.
Four hat-tricks in a single season of the I-League is a record which any player should be proud of. It seems Manzi never stops without scoring three in a game. Against Pune City, he was at his usual best, being at the right position every time, avoiding his markers and scoring from every angle.
For much of the first half an hour of the game, the Spaniard was tightly marked by Matt Mills and Martin Diaz, the two taller and superior central defenders of FC Pune City. Chennai City at that time, were sitting deep and trying to understand the strategy of their opponent.
His two Spanish partners should take most of the credit for his first goal. Manzi only had to connect the ball and put it into the right place after he got an inch-perfect pass from Aminuddin Moinuddin. But the second goal was a result of sheer brilliance.
After getting a through pass from Nestor Gordillo, Manzi made a quick inside cut to put Diaz behind. He then calmly placed a low shot into the first bar to score his second. The third came from a penalty in the second half and this time he waited till the goalkeeper jumped on one side and placed the ball into the centre of the net.
If he continues the same form in the tournament, Chennai City would surely make another statement in Indian football.
#4 Too many missed chances for Pune City
They may have lost the game by a bigger margin. But it is safe to say that Pune City dominated the game right from the first minute. It was the missed chances that cost them the match. Otherwise, Pune City would easily win the match, putting pressure on their opponents.
After Phil Brown was appointed as their head coach, Pune City have opted for a direct football. It yielded results as they have lost just one among the last eight matches in the Indian Super League.
Against Chennai City, they have started with the same approach. While Robin Singh and Iain Hume was operating as strikers, Marcelinho played as a playmaker. The strategy worked well as Pune City dominated inside Chennai City’s half.
However, none of the countless chances were converted into a goal. The best chance probably came when Hume’s header off Marcelinho’s cross was brilliantly saved by Chennai City custodian Mauro Boerchio.
Both Robin and Hume were disappointing in the whole match. Apart from that header, Hume failed to make any contribution in the game. Robin, who endured a good form late in the ISL, failed to replicate his form in the Super Cup.
It was Marcelinho who fought till the last minute, but apart from scoring a goal, he missed most of the chances.
#3 Defence is a worry for Chennai City
Chennai have may have scored a staggering 48 goals in the tournament, but they have also conceded 28, which is the third highest among the 11 teams. Even after this stats, their defender Roberto Eslava walked away with the ‘Defender of the Tournament’ award.
But as Eslava is missing the tournament owing to an injury, the task was left to Gourav Bora, who bagged the ‘Emerging Player of the Tournament’ award and Bengal boy Tarif Akhand. Considering his performance against Pune City, Bora still has a lot to do.
Bora was at fault behind both the goals that Chennai City conceded. During the first half, he just had to pass the ball to any of his teammates standing near him. But he lost the ball to Marcelinho and the Brazilian made no mistake in reducing the margin.
Bora then pushed Marcelinho inside the box in the second half and Marko Stankovic brought the score level. It was completely unnecessary challenge and brought Pune City back into the game. Also, in the third minute, Bora almost conceded an own goal while clearing a Robin Singh pass but fortunately ball missed the ‘target’.
Chennai City lost the ball too many times in their own half, which brought few nervy moments. Though Pune City failed to capitalise the chances, Chennai City defenders should be careful from the next match.
#2 Defenders turn villain for Pune City
At the beginning of the ISL, Pune City had been leaking easy goals. It was rectified only after Phil Brown came as a coach. The partnership between Martin Diaz and Matt Mills has been impeccable ever since.
Alas, not against Chennai City who boast one of the fiercest attacking line-ups in Indian football. Both Diaz and Mills had done their job well in the first half an hour of the game, keeping Manzi tightly marked.
Right-back Gurtej Singh ensured Nestor Gordillo didn't have the space to make darting runs. All their plans were going well until they opted for an offside trap. By the time Gordillo made an angular pass to Moinuddin, Pune City knew they were in danger. Before they could make amends, Manzi broke the deadlock.
Their confidence was shattered with that goal and Mills and Diaz kept on repeating mistakes for the rest of the game. Brown’s decision to field Gurtej instead of Sarthak Golui also hurt them badly.
#1 Spanish trio continues their red hot form
One of the main reasons behind Chennai City’s astonishing I-League triumph was the combination between their three Spanish players – Nestor Gordillo-Pedro Manzi-Sandro Rodriguez. Out of the 48 goals that Chennai scored in that tournament, only seven were scored by Indian players. Such is the understanding between these players that no team found an answer to stop them.
It was the same case against Pune City as the Spanish trio took the game away from him.
Phil Brown knew his team had to neutralise these three players in order to win the match. His plan was successful as neither Nestor Gordillo nor Sandro was getting their feet into the match for most time in the first half.
It all changed in the 35th minute when Gordillo and Sandro played a brilliant one-two in the middle of the pitch. Gordillo then provided a brilliant pass to Moinuddin who in turn passed it to Manzi to break the deadlock.
Within five minutes, Gordillo again turned the provider when he found Manzi near the box and the Spaniard scored his second.
But the third goal was a magnificent display of their understanding. Manzi got the ball on the right side of the pitch and Gordillo was shouting near the edge of the box. Manzi passed the ball to Gordillo, but the latter made a dummy run and left the ball for Sandro. Sandro scored with his first touch to put the game beyond Pune City.
Note: All images courtesy AIFF and the Hero Super Cup.
