Chennaiyin FC vs Bengaluru FC: Five Talking Points from the ISL match

Bengaluru FC clinched an emphatic victory against Chennaiyin FC in the latest Indian Super League encounter. The deadlock was broken fast and in style by Murzaev. However, by the end of the first half, the Marina Machans were sitting one goal behind Bengaluru. Chennaiyin were looking to bounce back since the start of the second half but Bengaluru doubled their lead, shattering all hopes for a comeback for the Marina Machans. This match had a lot of twists and turns but here are the five talking points for the match

Chennaiyin's link-up play

Bandovic led Chennaiyin FC have displayed some beautiful link up plays throughout the season. Against the Blues, they maintained their style of up play and quick counterattacks. It rattled the Bengaluru defence well early on the match. Rahim Ali alone could have had a hat trick by the time the clock had hit 15 minutes. But the blues had responded to the crisis pretty swiftly and effectively.

Bengaluru bounces back

Bengaluru's early disastrous start made Pezzaiouli react fast. Around the 20th minute, being one goal down and constantly pressed by the Chennaiyin attack he made the audacious choice of swapping in Udanta Singh for the left back Ajith Kumar. Their all-out attack tactic worked like a charm. Since the first drinks break, Bengaluru had been all over the Chennaiyin defence and managed to wiggle in two important goals to take the lead by halftime. Udanta went on to score the third goal in the 70th minute. The early substitution of Udanta turned out to be a masterstroke from the gaffer.

Shoddy defence of Bengaluru continues

Bengaluru FC have had a lot of problems throughout the season so far. Nevertheless, their defensive problem seems like the most persistent one. Today's match showed how vulnerable the blues can be in front of quick passing. They left huge gaps in their defence which was easily exploited by Murzaev in the first half. The defence did recover from their awful state as the game progressed but the German coach will have to come up with a long term solution in the coming year.

Unfortunate Chennaiyin FC

Chennaiyin was unlucky, to say the least, that they had to walk out empty pocketed. The penalty conceded by Jerry was not the clearest one of the season, Kaith's failed clearance was met by Alan Costa at the dying minutes of the first half, and again on the second half by Chaudhuri. Their dominance at the quarter of the first half could have easily got them a three goals cushion. Bandovic would be unhappy with the disappointing result.

Horrible night for the Kaith

Chennaiyin's custodian in between the sticks made some costly errors that very well ended the chance of winning for them. The golden glove winning Vishal Kaith showed some nightmarish clearance of corner kicks both of which were punished mercilessly by the blues. Gurpreet too conceded to Rahim Ali's seemingly straight shot but Kaith's mistakes were way more glaring than his. This will be a day to forget for the Indian Keepers.