After three consecutive goalless draws, Mumbai City FC were thrashed 0-3 by Chennaiyin FC at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. Goals by Bruno Pelissari, Dhanachandra Singh and Cristian Gonzalez were enough to see the team from Chennai extend their lead at the top of the table by three points.
With Chennayin FC losing top-scorer Elano Blumer and Colombia's Stevin Mendonza to injury, one would have thought that they were going to suffer in the attacking front. But Chennai just showed how all 23 members are vital for any team.
Mumbai's Nicolas Anelka was also unfit for the game. In the first half, both the teams were content with just passing the ball in the midfield. The first shot at the goal came in the 13th minute when Jeje Lalpekhlua tried to beat Mumbai custodian Subrata Paul with a shot from outside the box. The shot had no power in it and it was catching practice for Paul.
Mumbai's best chance in the half, and eventually in the game, came in the 26th minute when Lalrindika Ralte won the ball from Frenchman Bernard Mendy. He played a through ball to Brazilian Andre Moritz, who found himself in a one-on-one position with the goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano. But Bracigliano somehow managed to get a touch on the ball and punch it.
Chennaiyin FC looked a much better team in the second half. They should have got a penalty in the 55th minute when Mumbai's Johan Letzelter appeared to have handled the ball inside the box, but the referee wasn't interested, infuriating the Chennaiyin players.
The deadlock was broken in the 71st minute when Mumbai's Peter Costa failed to intercept a pass, giving Pelissari ample space and time to take a shot. Dhanachandra Singh doubled the lead in the 80th minute. Jairo Carvajal's freekick from the left flank was deflected by a Mumbai defender. Jeje controlled the ball and passed it to Singh, whose shot went past a couple of Mumbai defenders who made no attempt to get to the ball.
Cristian Gonzalez completed the rout one minute from normal time with a stunning freekick to the right of the goalkeeper Paul, who was completely beaten.
Mumbai travel to play Delhi on November 24. They won't be aided by the fact that striker Moritz looked to have pulled his hamstring during the game and could need a week to recover properly.
Stopwatch: Mumbai City FC 0 lost to Chennaiyin FC 3 (Pelissari 71, Dhanachandra 81, Gonzalez 89)
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