Indian Player Ratings: Adil Khan anchors Pune City's smash and grab win against NorthEast United

The versatile midfielder was once again head and shoulders ahove the rest of the star cast as the Stallions sealed a vital win in the race for the playoffs.

NorthEast United FC had to endure the heartbreak of yet another loss at home as star man Marcelinho scored the winner deep into the second half giving FC Pune City a 0-1 win. Given the balance of play, the loss would prove to be a bit hard to take as the Highlanders deserved to come out of the game with at least a point. This loss extinguished whatever slender hopes NorthEast United had of making the playoffs while the Stallions took a commanding step in the same direction.

Let's take a look at how the Indian players on both the sides are rated.

Watch: NorthEast United 0-1 FC Pune City highlights

NorthEast United FC

TP Rehenesh- 6.5

Wasn’t called into action much during the game, did very well in gathering the ball from the feet of Kean Lewis in a one-on-one situation. But couldn’t stop the ball going in, despite getting a hand to it, from a Marcelinho shot moments later.

Nirmal Chettri- 6.0

Was really lucky to see his poorly attempted back pass to the goalkeeper in the first half go unpunished by Emiliano Alfaro. Other than that, Chhetri went through his job well for most of the match, making a team high of five tackles.

Reagan Singh- 6.0

The left-back struggled at times against the guile of Marcelinho but was defensively disciplined. His crossing didn’t trouble the stallions defence much.

Rowllin Borges- 7.0

He was part of a double pivot at the centre of midfield along with Martin Diaz. Those two kept it tight in the middle and made the Stallions resort to long balls over the top. Borges finished the game with 82% passing accuracy and made four vital tackles and three interceptions

Seminlen Doungel- 6.5 

The Manipuri speedster put in yet another hardworking performance. He used his pace and trickery and also his running to pose problems for the Stallions defence, also sent a couple of dangerous crosses into the box. However, at times it looked as if he should have looked for a pass rather than attempting those solo runs of his into the final third.

Lalrindika Ralte- 6.0

Watch: Ralte failed to convert his chance against Pune on Wednesday night

The best chance for the Highlanders to score fell to him in the second half and he really should have given his team the lead, but instead scuffed his shot badly wide from two yards out. He provided options with his deliveries from set-pieces, creating two goalscoring chances.

Substitutes

Malemngamba Meitei- NA

Came on for Lalrindika Ralte in the 89th minute but could not impact the game in any way for lack of time.

Also Read

Grant dubs defeat unfortunate, Grujic praises players' discipline

Late Marcelinho strike seals vital win for Pune over NorthEast United in playoffs race 

Heavyweights ATK and Kerala square off in bid to salvage poor season 

FC Pune City

Vishal Kaith- 6.5 

Watch: Vishal Kaith talks about the match and his side's expectations this season

The young custodian wasn’t tested at all really, with all three of the Highlanders attempts at goal straight to his hands.

Baljit Sahni- 7.0

Other than a couple of mistakes, in which he gave away the ball, Sahni displayed an assuring performance on the right side of Pune’s defence. He made five clearances, including an important one from Danilo’s cross into the box, which would have found Lalrindika unmarked in front of goal.

Gurtej Singh- 6.5 

Although Singh struggled against the NorthEast United forwards in the first half, their high pressing made the Punjab defender get caught in possession a few times. But got into his groove as the game progressed, helping his side keep a clean sheet away from home. Made eight clearances.

Sahil Panwar- 5.5 

The young lad didn’t have a very good game and was clearly the weakest link in the Pune backline. He struggled against the pace and robustness of Danilo Lopes when the Brazilian played on the wings in the first half. Also didn’t look very comfortable when tasked with marking Seiminlen Doungel.

Adil Khan- 8.0

Watch: Adil Khan's performance last night landed him the Hero of The Match award

One of the finds of the season, Adil excelled in his role as a box-to-box midfielder yet again. The midfielder was his workaholic self in the middle of the park, winning the ball and initiating attacking moves as well as building up play with his quick passing game.

Issac Vanmalsawma- 6.0

The former Shillong Lajong academy graduate played safe and was happy to let the ones in front of him make inroads to the opposition defence. He also failed to provide any creativity or threat from his position on the right wing.

Substitutes

[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

Kean Lewis- 5.0

The former FC Pune City winger Had a lively cameo of 14 minutes, in which he came close to scoring and also sent in a couple of dangerous crosses into the box.