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Both teams played out a goalless draw in DelhiThe match between Delhi Dynamos and FC Pune City finished 0-0. It was billed as a match of equals, with the potent strike force of David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero playing as marquee players for Pune and Delhi respectively. The two former Juventus players had been the talk of the town prior to kick-off thanks to the hype and build-up surrounding the encounter.The JLN stadium in Delhi was the setting for the third match of the Indian Super League (ISL), with the expectations of the home team supporters already hitting fever pitch prior to the start. But what was billed as the battle of the two former Bianconeri players turned out to be a dull stalemate of sorts.We take a look at some of the talking points of the game:
#1 David Trezeguet vs Alessandro Del Piero
What was billed as the battle to look out for, turned into a sad stalemate of sorts for both the former World Cup winners. While Trezeguet kept running into blind alleys expecting his team mates to cross a ball in, so that he could try and poach it away from the Dynamos defenders, Del Piero had an even more unceremonious start. Left on the bench, he was substituted and brought on in the 35th minute.
However the wild cheers of the fans across the stadium did little to lift the spirits of the 39-year-old support striker. Ever since coming on, he had numerous set pieces and a couple of efforts on goal to take advantage of, and turn them into goals, but he looked rusty and far off from the Del Piero that fans have gotten used to seeing play for Juventus and Italy. The Frenchman from Pune, on the other side was largely invisible in the second half, save for two chances which he could sadly not come even close to converting.
#2 Both teams not consistent enough
While it would be completely imprudent to compare the playing style of the players from the ISL with those from the leagues in Europe, a certain level of accuracy as far as the passing and creation of chances is concerned is expected in top-flight football, no matter where it is being played.
The blind clearances from FC Pune City and Delhi Dynamos' attacking inroads which saw them being thwarted right at the death by themselves was frustrating to watch. Not just for the team staff on the sidelines but also the fans and viewers.
Delhi however did dominate the ball in the game with 59 percent possession as compared to Pune's 41 percent. That necessarily did not mean that they were good. With 14 shots on goal they had little to show with the ones on target being only 7. Pune did worse with just 8 shots on goal and 4 on target.
#3 FC Pune City\'s foreign contingent defended poorly
If there was something more terrible than the passing and finishing, which was frustrating enough, the foreign players of FC Pune City showed a lack of ambition to get the ball forward and were error prone. Most of it consisted of sloppy tackles, primarily on Del Piero.
Bruno Cirillo, the Italian defender and Greece's captain Kostas Katsouranis's efforts in mid-field were particularly disappointing. While Kostas was visibly lost in the game, before being substituted in the second half by the Kashmir born Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Cirillo for some reason kept passing the ball back to the keeper.
One particular incident in the second half around the 56 minute mark saw him get the ball in the midfield off of Del Piero only to come back into his half and pass it back to the keeper. FC Pune City could take a hard lesson from today's game and work on its Achilles heel — its defensive mindset with the ball. Such shoddy work against Atletico De Kolkata will only result in horrors for them.
#4 Lenny Rodrigues and Francisco Fernandes standout players
True, Alessandro Del Piero won the man of the match but if there were two players who tirelessly worked their legs out on the field for the entire duration of the game, they were Lenny Rodrigues and Francisco Fernandes for Pune and Delhi respectively.
Lenny tirelessly ran down the wings trying to get in crosses, first to Trezeguet and then to Dudu Omnagbemi only to see chances being squandered. FC Pune City came very close to scoring in the second half in the 68th minute when Dudu ran in late to a perfectly timed cross by Lenny, which was collected eventually by the Delhi custodian Kristof van Hout.
Fernandes performed a similar role on the right wing sending in crosses tirelessly to Del Piero and Mads Junker. Eventually he himself tried to run into the FC Pune City box, only to be denied by last minute defending by FC Pune City.
#5 Emanuele Belardi was solid for FC Pune City
While Delhi nearly ran riot in the FC Pune City goal box, beating their defence time and again, if it were not for the heroics of their keeper Belardi, they wouldn't have had escaped with the single point. From a full stretched dive to stop a Del Piero shot (which was just wide) to having come to call right in the initial minutes of the game, Belardi did it all correctly.
Save for one moment late in the game when the Brazilian Dos Santos managed to toe poke the ball past him only to have it rebound off the post, there was little to say error wise on the part of the big Italian. Pune City can thank their stars for his performance in what can only be described as a lacklustre display of football. He along with a couple of his team members were the only positives to come out of the game for the away side.
