Elano's no-show, Anelka's flop-show and Chennai's downpour: Talking points from ISL's Chennaiyin vs Mumbai City

Amidst heavy downpour, Chennaiyin FC inched closer to a semi-final berth on Tuesday night after handing Mumbai City FC a 3-0 thrashing. A match that started in gloomy weather conditions sprang to life in the first half with some scintillating attacking football by the home team. The scoreline at half-time could easily have been doubled, if not for the Mumbai custodian Subrata Paul. Chennaiyin FC then switched to auto-pilot to see out the match. Here are three talking points from the match that turned the tide in Chennaiyin’s favour. Elano’s continued absence It may seem bizarre to say that the absence of the best creative player in the team is good. But it is a fact. Chennaiyin’s best 11 does not have place for Elano Blumer, their captain and leading goalscorer of ISL 2014. As witnessed in the last three games, Bruno Pelissari has fit snugly on the left wing, enabling Raphael Augusto, or in Tuesday night’s case, Zakeer Mundampara to call the shots creatively from the centre of the park. [caption id=“attachment_2529646” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mumbai City FC player-manager Nicolas Anelka during their clash against Chennaiyin FC. ISL[/caption] What is more important is that everyone seems involved in the attack. Thoi and Wadoo with their timely runs, Dhanchandra with his long range shots, throws, and combination with Bruno have suddenly opened a plethora of options for Chennaiyin. When Elano was in the team, the creative burden fell to him and it was easy for opponents to mark him and control the game. Also, with all due respect to Elano, he did seem to try too much every time he got the ball, in the process forgetting there are others to help him. But now with Jeje complementing Mendoza brilliantly upfront, and the support cast playing their part well, Elano’s absence has been a necessity. Anelka’s failure as manager Before this game, Mumbai had two games left and winning both was a must for them to have an outside chance to qualify. With Chennaiyin slightly better off, but still fighting for the same spot, a tough contest was expected. But what transpired was an absolutely toothless performance from the visitors. Apart from Sony Norde, no one else really showed an intent and hunger to really have an impact on the game. There’s no denying that the rain played havoc and defending in the first half at the PH Road End was a nightmare. But when it was Chennaiyin’s turn to defend from that side, Mumbai hardly pressed the home team. Chennaiyin were holding possession comfortably in their own half and Mumbai City team didn’t seem to want the ball. The blame has to go to the manager, who seems to have lost his dressing room. When asked if he considered this season as his failure as a manager, Nicolas Anelka said “As a manager, I have the responsibility to take my team to the semi-finals. Our team hasn’t made it and of course that means I have failed them.” We couldn’t have put it any better. Chennai rains The match was initially scheduled to be delayed by an hour, but the teams realised that the rain situation wasn’t going to improve and they consented to kick-off as soon as possible. The move was provoked more by the fact that the crowd had started trickling in steadily and 12,636 brave souls made it to cheer for the home team. It didn’t make sense to keep them waiting hoping for clear skies. This in hindsight proved to be a boon as it rained the entire 90 minutes. Chennaiyin players quickly adapted to the conditions on the pitch. The second goal was a testament as to how Chennaiyin had adapted to the situation. Jeje was alert to realise the ball was going to stop in the puddle in front of goal and quickly pounced on the opportunity to smash it past Subrata. Mendoza figured out that the puddles on the right are perfect for long balls and kept asking for long balls there. Mumbai City FC seemed dazed by the speed with which Chennaiyin were operating. They were both on the same pitch but one simply steamrollered the other nonchalantly. Thus, the rains did turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the home team!