The blockbuster fixture lived up to its billing with Atletico de Kolkata registering a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Saturday.
Both sides battled with endeavour and energy throughout the match.
Defending champion Atletico had to thank its marquee player and ‘Hero of the match’ Helder Postiga, who proved his worth by scoring a brace.
The first goal came in the 13th minute when Chennaiyin FC goalkeeper Edel Apoula failed to collect a whipping cross from skipper Borja Fernandez and dropped the ball on to the path of the Portuguese. Postiga had an open goal in front of him and stabbed the ball home.
Coming alive But, it was the home side that came close to scoring in the initial stages of the match. The first burst of penetration and attacking intent came as early as the third minute when Elano Blumer and Raphael Augusto, exchanging a neat one-two, found former ATK player Fikru in the box. However, the Ethiopian was wayward in his attempt.
The equaliser came in the 31st minute after several raids to the rival box. Chennaiyin skipper Elano Blumer’s wonderful chip found Fikru in the box, but the latter headed it straight to Amrinder Singh. The goalkeeper palmed it away, but the ball found Jeje Lalpekhluawho who had an open goal. Both ’keepers finished the half without any further incident.
There was no shortage of entertainment in the second-half as well. Atletico coach Antonio Habas was spot on while retaining the services of midfield-general Fernandez.
Equipped with a dangerous shot, the trickery to hoodwink the defenders, and a superb vision for the pass, the former Real Madrid player bossed the midfield along with Javi Lara.
The domination fetched the lead when Postiga latched on to a slapdash back-pass from Bernard Mendy in the 70 minute. But, he was stretchered off immediately with a knee injury.
It’s Valdo! The champion enhanced the lead when Hume was freed on the left by Lara. He raced to the byline and sent in an inch-perfect pass. Valdo rose the highest and headed into the right corner in the 76th minute.
ATK could have put the match to bed had Lara converted the penalty in the 79th minute. The Chennaiyin FC goalkeeper made amends by diving to his right and making a brilliant save.
The tactical tweaks and substitutions in the second-half hinted at a riposte, but Chennaiyin never found the right blend. The host managed to reduce the margin in the 89th minute through an Elano penalty.
Unfortunately, for him and Chennaiyin FC it was just a footnote in a contest that had ended 15 minutes earlier.
Earlier, a bevy of stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai and Alia Bhatt, dominated the glitzy opening ceremony of the second edition of the ISL.
The result:
Chennaiyin FC 2 (Jeje 31, Elano 89-pen) lost to Atletico de Kolkata 3 (Postiga 13, 70, Valdo 76).
