Chennaiyin FC and FC Goa will reach the 2014 ISL final
Elano and Bruno Pelissari will be key figures for Chennaiyin in the second leg against Kerala.
Despite losing their semi final first leg match against Kerala Blasters, I feel Chennaiyin will still progress to the finals of the ISL. Chennaiyin put up a horrible performance against Kerala in this match losing 3-0, but given that Chennaiyin are known for giving away goals, they score even more goals to cover that up.
The statistics say so too with Chennaiyin scoring the most number of goals in the initial stage of the tournament with 29. Chennaiyin did not have a lot of momentum going into this game losing three of their last four matches.
They started the season in fine form losing just one match in the first nine games. Their games started getting affected after their star man and captain Elano got injured. Chennaiyin then got in Alessandro Nesta to help improve their defence but in this match he struggled a lot and was not able to keep up with the pace of the game.
Even though he is one of the best and most experienced defenders in the world, the Italian was simpely not good enough today and he should not play the next leg. It will be better if he takes a coaching role to help improve the defense of the team. They will need it looking at the number of goals they have conceded.
Now that Elano is back and fit again, he and Bruno Pelissari will need to be at the top of their game if Chennaiyin are to reach the finals. Chennaiyin have just lost one match at their home ground and given that their whole team is a goal scoring machine, I feel they will do the impossible and beat Kerala to reach the finals of the Indian Super League.
Goa in terrific form in the later stages of ISL
With the way Goa started their season no one expected them to turn it around and finish 2nd in the table. They lost three and drew one out of their first four games and no one expected them to be in contention for a top four finish. But they proved their haters wrong and turned their season around losing just one more match leading up to the semi finals.
Going into tomorrows match against Kolkata they are in the best of form winning five and drawing three in the final eight games of the league stage. The man that helped turn their season around was Romeo Fernandes, who scored three goals and gave two assists leading up to the semi finals.
Goa will have a tough time at the Salt Lake City stadium where Kolkata have lost just one match but if they manage to come out from there with a draw or even lose by one goal they will be able to seal a place in the finals by winning at their home ground.
Kolkata are not in the best of forms going into this game. They haven’t recorded a win in their last five games so Goa clearly have the upper hand going into their semi-final first leg today.
Football is one of the most unpredictable sport in the world and anything can happen in the semi finals, but given the form and consistency of Chennaiyin and Goa, I feel both of them will battle it out in the final for the Indian Super League title.