XtraTime Web Desk – Chennaiyin faced Odisha in the 11th round of Indian Super League and it’s Esmael Goncalves’ brace secured all three points for the blues.
Chennaiyin played attacking football right from the start and wanted to keep Odisha under pressure. Esmael missed a goal scoring opportunity in the 5th minute itself but the Portuguese sails it over. However, it didn’t take much time for him to make his impact. In the 15th minute mark, his strike gave Chennaiyin the important lead. Odisha FC made a defensive error and Esmael took full advantage of it.
Not long after, in the 22nd minute, Esmael doubled Chennaiyin’s lead. Anirudh Thapa won a penalty and the Portuguese once again did his job. With just 22nd minute in the clock, Chennaiyin FC fans understood that there’s someone worthy enough to replace the injured Rafael Crivellaro. Post that, Odisha got couple of opportunities but nothing concrete from them as the first half ended 2-0.
Odisha replaced Marcelino with Diego Mauricio in the second half and that changed their fortune to an extent in the 2nd half. He pulled one back in the 63rd minute to give Odisha some hope. Both the teams got good chances post that but again, nothing concrete as Chennaiyin beat Odisha FC 2-1.
Chennaiyin FC are now 5th in the table with 14 points from 11 matches. Odisha are 11th position with 6 points from 11 games.