Ratings: Chhangte, Stewart shine as Mumbai City beat Chennaiyin FC

The Islanders continue their dominance in the Indian Super League.

Mumbai City came from behind to defeat Chennaiyin FC 2-1, courtesy goals from Lallianzuala Chhangte and Greg Stewart at the Mumbai Football Arena (MFA) on Saturday. The visitors gained a lead through a Petar Siliskovic goal but the Islanders responded immediately and straight up refused to cease away the control of the game thereafter. Des Buckingham’s men have now further consolidated their spot at the top of the standings as they extended their unbeaten start to the season to 11 games now.

Here are the player ratings for both teams from this match.

Mumbai City (By Tarkesh Jha)

Phurba Lachenpa – 6

Phurba was kept fairly busy by the Chennaiyin attackers and the goalkeeper produced a fine performance, making multiple saves but being left hapless with the sole opposition goal that went in.

Rahul Bheke – 6

Bheke again delivered a solid defensive performance, making four tackles, intercepting thrice in addition to making two clearances. He ensured that the gaps in his flank were plugged properly throughout the game.

Mourtada Fall – 6

The skipper was culpable for Chennaiyin’s goal due to his indecisiveness in possession. However, Fall made up for it by assisting Chhangte’s strike straight afterwards and recorded two interceptions, three clearances and four blocks overall.

Mehtab Singh – 5

Mehtab had a relatively quiet evening by his own standards, as he had only two clearances to show for his overall defensive contributions. However, the 24-year-old maintained a fine 95 per cent passing accuracy throughout the game.

Mandar Rao Dessai – 5

Mandar tackled and cleared the ball twice each but he was hauled off for Vignesh Dakshinamurthy at half time as the Islanders looked to push harder to secure the lead in the second half.

Lalengmawia Apuia Ralte – 6

Apuia screened the backline well and created a solitary goal-scoring chance. He took two shots at goal and one of them resulted in a controversial handball call that arguably denied a clear spot-kick to the home side.  

Ahmed Jahouh – 6.5

Jahouh was relentless at the centre of the park, creating three goal-scoring chances and registering nine tackles as he orchestrated most of Mumbai’s forward forays from the middle.

Lallianzuala Chhangte – 7.5

Chhangte scored a brilliant goal to level the scores against his former employers. The Mumbai City winger was a constant threat to the Chennaiyin FC backline, making incisive runs from the right flank and taking shots that regularly tested Samik Mitra’s reflexes.

Greg Stewart – 7.5

Stewart bagged the winner for the table-toppers via a fine assist from fellow forward Jorge Pereyra Diaz. He engaged the other forwards in some quick passing patterns in the final third and worked tirelessly to recover possession higher up on the field as well.

Bipin Singh – 7

Bipin took five shots, created two goal-scoring chances and worked seamlessly in tandem with Chhangte to breach through the Chennaiyin backline and help assert Mumbai’s dominance in the proceedings.

Jorge Pereyra Diaz – 6.5

Diaz dropped deeper and helped in creating chances if he couldn’t get to the end of any of the decisive balls in the final third. He eventually found success in delivering the sleek assist that Stewart converted into the goal and helped Mumbai grab three points from this fixture.

Substitutes

Vignesh Dakshinamurthy – 6

Dakshinamurthy recorded two tackles and interceptions each and played a vital part in Mumbai’s collective effort of coming out as the better side in the second half.

Alberto Noguera – 5.5

The Spaniard kept the intensity of the game upbeat upon his introduction - helping Mumbai maintain a stronghold over the proceedings and also took a fierce shot at goal.

Rostyn Griffiths – N/A

Vikram Pratap Singh – N/A

Gurkirat Singh – N/A

Chennaiyin FC (by Kaushik Viswanath)

Samik Mitra - 7

The Chennaiyin FC keeper kept his side in the game with some good saves against a robust Mumbai City side. He made five saves in total but couldn’t do enough to keep out Chhangte and Stewart’s goals. 

Ajith Kumar - 6

Did a good job at either end and competed well against Bipin Singh. Attempted three crosses and completed 63% of his passes. Defensively, he won two tackles and made one clearance. 

Vafa Hakhamaneshi - 6

Looked scrappy a few times on and off the ball but did a decent job overall. Completed 72% of his passes and made two clearances and three interceptions. Also blocked one shot. 

Fallou Diagne - 6

He provided the aerial threat for his side going forward and did a good job defensively apart from the two goals where he could’ve marked better. Completed 83% of his passes and made one clearance and three interceptions. Like his defensive partner, Fallou too blocked one shot. 

Aakash Sangwan - 5.5 

The wing-back did well defensively but would be disappointed with his service going forward. He barely threatened with his crosses and completed only 52% of his passes. Defensively, he won three tackles and made three clearances and five interceptions. 

Edwin Sydney Vanspaul - 6

Looked more fluent in possession and started the press which led to Petar Sliskovic’s opener. Vanspaul completed 73% of his passes and created one chance. Defensively, he won a tackle before being taken off for Ninthoi in the 68th minute. 

Sourav Das - 6.5 

Did well to frustrate the Mumbai midfield and combined well with Duker and Vanspaul in midfield. He completed 77% of his 26 attempted passes, won two tackles and made two clearances before being taken off at the hour mark. 

Julius Duker - 6.5

The German assisted Sliskovic for the opener and did well to run his side’s gameplay. He ran the proceedings well and proved to be an able contest for Ahmed Jahouh & Co. Duker had the most touches by any CFC player (55) and completed 74% of his passes. Defensively, he won two tackles and made a clearance and interception apiece. 

Vincy Barretto - 6

The Chennaiyin FC winger caused problems for Mumbai City with his pace and directness. He attempted five crosses in the game while completing only 11 passes in his 86-minute stay. He created two chances for his side and also won a tackle. 

Petar Sliskovic - 6.5

The Croatian scored the opener but was starved of service throughout the game. He tried his best to involve himself by dropping back and adding to the gameplay, but to no avail. Completed 62% of his passes and made one interception. 

Prasanth K - 6

Was good in parts for Chennaiyin FC but didn’t offer a lot of threat from the wing, like Baretto. Completed 78% of his passes and didn’t create any meaningful chances on the night.

Substitutes 

Anirudh Thapa - 5

The midfielder created one chance but was left chasing shadows for most parts of the game. Also, Thapa did not provide much service going forward, with some poor crossing and completing only 56% of his passes. 

Jiteshwor Singh - 5

Was an energetic addition to Chennaiyin FC’s midfield but his decision-making left a lot to be desired. Completed 83% of his passes and blocked one shot. 

Ninthoi Meetei - 5

Made some good runs into the box but did not offer much threat against a resolute Mumbai City defence. Completed 50% of his passes and won a single tackle. 

Mohammed Rafique - 5.5

Faced a tough final few minutes against Bipin Singh and did not offer much threat going forward. 

Jobby Justin - N/A