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Chennaiyin FC overcame East Bengal 0-1 at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata, thanks to a second-half header from Vafa Hafkhamaneshi.
Both sides had their opportunities to lead the game in the first half with Petar Sliskovic rattling the upright in the 10th minute after being fed by Rahim Ali on the left flank. VP Suhair failed to steer the hosts to the lead following a glaring 1-v-1 miss in the first half.
The visitors kept on applying the pressure and came close to scoring through their captain Anirudh Thapa. However, Kamaljit was quick to get down to the near post and parry the ball away to safety. Skipper Cleiton Silva failed to capitalize on Vafa's mistake and dragged the shot away before the half-time whistle.
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It was a dull second half until Vafa broke the deadlock from the corner. The Iranian defender's firm header beat Kamajit Singh in the 69th minute.
He was subsequently sent off for his celebration. Five minutes into his dismissal, Sarthak Golui was shown a red card after receiving back-to-back yellow cards. It was followed by an uneventful period until the full-time whistle.
Chennaiyin FC climbed up the ladder to fifth spot with this victory. East Bengal remain 10th and with a lot of work to do.
We shall now look at how players fared in Chennaiyin's narrow victory over East Bengal.
East Bengal player ratings
Kamaljit Singh - 7/10
Kamaljit redeemed his last outing's horror show with a couple of strong saves. He got a strong hand to a firm shot from Anirudh Thapa and covered the near post when Petar was 1-v-1 with him in the first half.
Sarthak Golui - 4.5/10
Sarthak's poor start to the season continued with yet another poor showing that resulted in a red card. The right-back was often caught out of position and found it hard to deal with the threat possessed by Rahim Ali.
Chungnunga Lal - 6.5/10
Despite losing the game, Chungunga Lal's formidable partnership with Ivan Gonzalez negated the threat posed by their opponents. He read the game well and made a few important interceptions.
Ivan Gonzalez - 7.5/10
This game was by far the best display from Ivan Gonzalez this campaign. The centre-back was a warrior at the back and won most of the contested duels.
Jerry Lalrinzuala - 6/10
Jerry failed to produce anything out of the ordinary for East Bengal against his former side. He was defensively shaky as Prasanth found it easy to make runs behind him.
Jordan O'Doherty - 6.5/10
Jordan O'Doherty had a decent game and provided good support to the backline. However, he was second best to Jiteshwor Singh and Anirudh Thapa.
Charalambos Kyriakou - 6.5/10
Similar to Jordan, Kyriakou's tireless running eased the East Bengal backline from a heavy workload. His ability with the ball did not come into effect against Chennaiyin FC.
VP Suhair - 5.5/10
VP Suhair wasted a glorious chance in the first half and struggled to penetrate into the defense. Both Narayan and Aakash gave him a tough time.
Mahesh Singh - 6/10
Mahesh Singh did not have the best of nights after starting the season well. He was wasteful in possession and often struggled to penetrate through opposition defences like Suhair.
Semboi - 6/10
Yet another tame performance from Semboi, whose decision-making in the final third and passing came into scrutiny once again. He found it hard to make things work around him.
Cleiton Silva - 6.5/10
Cleiton Silva's only chance in the first half was East Bengal's best chance throughout the game. He used his physicality to full effect to win free-kicks and set-up his teammates.
Substitutes
Mobashir Rahman - 6/10
Mobashir supported the East Bengal backline and helped others get further up the field since he came on.
Aniket Jadhav - 6/10
Coming on as a substitute in the second half, Aniket Jadhav had a few opportunities to change the game with his attacking attributes. However, poor execution let him down.
Eliandro - 6.5/10
As soon as Eliandro was substituted in, East Bengal's physical prowess went up by a notch. He didn't receive sufficient service to trouble the opposition.
Himanshu Jangra - 6/10
The young Indian forward came on for the entire second half. He looked too raw, but there's room for development.
Chennaiyin FC Player ratings
Debjit Majumder - 7/10
Debjit's first clean sheet for Chennaiyin FC comes against his former club. The custodian was not tested throughout the game as the hosts failed to hit the target whenever an opportunity was presented.
Ajith Kumar - 8.5/10
East Bengal found it hard to attack through the right side of Chennaiyin's defense due to a solid display from Ajith Kumar. The right-back was proactive defensively and made a crucial last-ditch interception to put an end to a swift East Bengal.
Fallou Diagne - 8/10
Fallou Diagne produced yet another competent display to procure Chennaiyin's first clean sheet of the season. His aerial prowess and ability to stay ahead of the game helped him deal with Silva and Semboi.
Vafa Hakhamaneshi - 8/10
Apart from one scary moment in the first half when Cleiton Silva took advantage of his slip, the Iranian defender looked solid and maintained great discipline. His aerial prowess came into strength when he nodded the ball in from a delicious Aakash corner.
Narayan Das - 6/10
Narayan Das had a decent start to the game but was forced to leave the field with a hamstring injury in the 20th minute.
Julius Duker - 9/10
Perfectionist Julius Duker sat at the heart of the midfield and helped Chennaiyin FC maintain the tempo with his intricate passes. He also won a few tackles and kept the opponents guessing despite moving to the centre-back position following Vafa's red card.
Anirudh Thapa - 8/10
Anirudh Thapa's ball-carrying ability went to another level against East Bengal. He was completing dribbles for fun and played crucial passes that tore the host's backline.
Jiteshwor Singh - 6.5/10
Just like Duker, Jiteshwor kept on recycling the ball in the middle of the park. The young Indian midfielder worked tirelessly to do the same things properly.
Prasanth Karuthadathkuni - 6.5/10
Although Prasanth's ball-carrying ability is top-notch, his decisiveness in the final third was not up to the mark. He struggled to find his Chennaiyin teammates inside the penalty box after receiving the ball.
Rahim Ali - 7/10
Rahim Ali looked lively throughout the first half and caused havoc in East Bengal's backline by making constant runs through both the channels and behind the defense. Although he failed to take a chance in the second half, he was Chennaiyin FC's best attacker on the night.
Petar Sliskovic - 6/10
He came close to breaking the deadlock on the night with an effort that smashed the crossbar. The striker failed to cause trouble otherwise.
Substitutes
Aakash Sangwan - 7.5/10
The 27-year-old had defensive struggles early on in the game, but improved as the game progressed. He whipped in two beautiful crosses to Petar, which were left unconverted for Chennaiyin. However, he was lucky the third time when Vafa headed the ball in from a delicious corner from Aakash.
Ninthoinganba Meetei - 7/10
An appreciative cameo off the bench for Chennaiyin, Ninthoi was full of energy and made the right wing himself. He was breaking away through counter-attacks on numerous occasions and helped his side to keep hold of possession in their half.
Sourav Das - 6.5/10
Sourav Das occupied the defensive midfield spot for Chennaiyin FC once Duker was pushed back to the centre-back position following Vafa's dismissal. The midfielder won important tackles that led to numerous counter-attacks during the second half.
Edwin Sydney - N/A
He replaced Anirudh Thapa during the closing stages of the game.
