Ratings: Adrian Luna's creativity secures crucial point for Kerala Blasters against NorthEast United

Both teams are on the upper half of the table

Kerala Blasters and NorthEast United share spoils after an entertaining game of football in ISL 2023-24, that saw both sides create tons of chances. NorthEast United scored an opener early on in the game, but Kerala Blasters came up with a great response. The home team equalised at the start of the second half, from which neither team created chances, but weren’t able to capitalise.

Here are the ratings from the game

Kerala Blasters (By Keshava Verma)

Sachin Suresh - 7.5

Was apt with his clearances and distribution. Couldn’t do a lot about Nestor’s strike for Northeast’s opener. 

Sandeep Singh - 6.5

Had a decent shift in unfamiliar territory, but played a number of loose passes, and wasn’t very impressive with his long balls.

Ruivah Hormipam - 6.5

Struggled at times to cope with Nestor’s trickery, but was otherwise obedient with his backline duties. 

Pritam Kotal - 7

First fiddled with an all-Indian backline, and did well to manage a stringent Northeast attack. Made two blocks and two interceptions, and was difficult to trespass.  

Naocha Huidrom Singh - 7

Was very involved in Kerala’s attacking plays, and also struck a long-range effort that unfortunately brushed the crossbar. 

Daisuke Sakai - 7

Had a decent start to the game, as he made some half-decent runs on the right flank, and also managed to make two key passes. Struck the woodwork early into the game, after a kick corner by the Blasters.

Vibin Mohanan - 6.5

Vibin wasn’t very impactful in the midfield and missed the usual fluidity in his play.

Danish Farooq Bhat - 8

Danish flicked on Kerala’s equalizer and mustered up an important point for his team. Had a good contribution in the midfield, and gave Bemammer a tough fight throughout the night. 

Adrian Luna - 8

Luna was yet again influential in guiding Kerala to a decent result. The Uruguayan assisted the Blasters’ equaliser and succoured Northeast’s backline with his experience and fine quality.

Kwame Peprah - 6.5

Worked hard throughout the game, but couldn’t come up with a lot of chances. Was unfortunate though, to have not won a penalty in the first half.

Dimitris Diamantakos - 6.5

Dimitris helped in Kerala’s buildup but wasn’t as threatening as he often is. The striker had no shot on target but did make two key passes for his side. 

Substitutions

Mohammed Aimen - 6

Aimen wasn’t very impactful upon coming on in the 70th minute.

Ishan Pandita - 7

Came in the 79th minute, and created a number of chances in the front.

Freddy Lallawmawma - N/A

Rahul KP - N/A

NorthEast United (By Keshava Verma)

Mirshad Michu - 7

Was influential in the back for NorthEast, as he made a number of clearances from set pieces. Mirshad’s distribution was also way better than what we have seen of him so far this season.

Dinesh Singh - 7

Dinesh had a decent night at the back, as he was resilient with his defensive work, and also came up with some good forward plays.

Asheer Akhtar - 6

Asheer didn’t have a great game and struggled quite a lot against a top-notch Kerala attack. 

Yaser Hamed - 7.5

Yaser put in a lot of good work in the back for NorthEast United and helped the Highlanders immensely in trying to hold on to their lead.

Michel Zabaco - 8.5

Michel produced one of the best defensive performances of the season, as he had an answer to every attack put up by Kerala. Some of his blocks and interceptions truly saved the day for the team in white.

Tondomba Singh - 7

Tondomba was an engine for Northeast down the left flank and was constantly making himself available at the front, whilst attending to his defensive duties. 

Jithin MS - 7

Jithin pounced on the opportunity given to him by Juan and made a pretty lasting impact on the game. The winger assisted Northeast’s goal and was outstanding with most of his forward runs.

Mohammed Ali Bemammer - 7.5

Was effective yet again, as he dictated the midfield for the better half of the game. Mohammed’s forward passing was very impressive and helped generate a number of chances for the Highlanders. 

Konsam Phalguni Singh - 6.5

Phalguni was great with his pressing and linked up well with the defensive line as well as the attackers.

Parthib Gogoi - 6.5

Parthib had a quiet night and wasn’t able to make the kind of impact that he is so well known for. 

Nestor Albiach - 8

Scored the only for Northeast, and was a joy to watch at the front. The Spaniard was also great with his quick feet and trickery which made life tough for the home team.  

Substitutions

Gani Nigam - 7

Was decent with his passing, and did well to get himself into good positions.

Redeem Talang - N/A

Rocharzella - N/A

Ibson Melo - N/A