ATK Mohun Bagan 4-2 Kerala Blasters FC: Player ratings as Mariners win on opening day | ISL 2021-22
ATK Mohun Bagan raced to an emphatic 4-2 win over Kerala Blasters FC on the opening day of the eighth season of the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda.
Hugo Boumous opened the scoring for the Mariners before Sahal Abdul Samad equalized with an impeccable finish. Roy Krishna made it 2-1 from the spot before Boumous struck again with a quality goal before half-time. The Mariners made it 4-1 courtesy of an exemplary strike from Liston Colaco. Kerala Blasters managed to get their second from a Jorge Diaz strike, but it wasn't enough for them to get back into the game.
Let's have a quick look at how the players from both teams performed on the night:
ATK Mohun Bagan FC
Amrinder Singh (GK) (7/10): Amrinder was not worked much throughout the game by Kerala Blasters and had a decent outing.
Pritam Kotal (6/10): He struggled to get into attacking areas and was kept in check by Jessel Carneiro.
Deepak Tangri (7/10): Tangri put up a resilient performance and the Blasters found it tough to get past him.
Carl McHugh (8/10): McHugh played the role of a box-to-box midfielder and was crucial in not allowing the Blasters to find space in the ATK Mohun Bagan defense.
Subhasish Bose (7/10): Bose had a decent outing and was useful in counter-attacks down the left wing.
Lenny Rodrigues (7/10): Rodrigues played behind Boumous and Kauko and put up a decent defensive shift.
Hugo Boumous (9/10): Boumous was in exemplary form. He scored two goals and was a constant menace to the Kerala Blasters backline. The French-Morrocan midfielder deservedly bagged the Man of the Match award.
Joni Kauko (7/10): Kauko put up a useful shift in the middle in a defensive role. He often combined with Rodrigues and McHugh to form an unbreakable three-man defensive midfield for ATK Mohun Bagan.
Roy Krishna (7/10): Krishna was a constant danger for the Blasters defense but never managed to play his usual game of free-flowing football. He did, however, manage to get a goal from the spot.
Liston Colaco (9/10): Colaco dazzled the opposition and ATK Mohun Bagan fans with his pace and dribbling abilities down the left. He also scored a stunning goal from the edge of the box.
Manvir Singh (6/10): Manvir did not have much to do and mostly relied on Krishna's brilliance to get some opportunities to score.
Presenting our 'Hero of the Match'
Who else but @adnan_hugo !! 👏🙌
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Substitutes
Prabir Das: (N/A)
Bidyananda: (6/10): Bidyananda had a few touches on the ball after coming on in the second half.
David Williams (6/10): David Williams came on late in the second half and did not have much of an impact except for a couple of passes to Roy Krishna.
Kiyan Giri: (N/A)
Kerala Blasters FC
Albino Gomes (GK) (6/10): Albino Gomes can arguably be called out for conceding the third goal as he was out of position and Boumous fired home at the far post from a tight angle.
Marko Leskovic (5/10): Leskovic looked unsettled at the heart of the Kerala Blasters FC defense and struggled to keep up with the brilliance of Krishna and Boumous.
Bijoy V (6/10): Bijoy showed moments of brilliance with his ball distribution but his defensive performance was way under-par on his ISL debut for Kerala Blasters FC.
Jessel Carneiro (7/10): Carneiro led from the front for Kerala Blasters FC and put up a very reliable and resilient display.
Harmanjot Khabra (5/10): Khabra's lack of fitness and pace was on display against the formidable striking line-up of ATK Mohun Bagan. The veteran struggled to keep up pace with Colaco and often gave away cheap possession.
Adrian Luna (6/10): Luna was slow and lacked the required off-the-ball movement which rendered him vulnerable during ATK Mohun Bagan counter attacks. He was slow in recovering and gave the ball away cheaply as well.
Jeakson Singh (7/10): Jeakson Singh had to play catch up due to Luna's lack of cohesion in defensive midfield and struggled to contain the quick Mariner midfielders.
Sahal Abdul Samad (8/10): Samad scored a stunning goal to level the scoring off a Rahul KP cross. The local lad was a constant problem for ATK Mohun Bagan with his exquisite dribbling ability.
Rahul KP (N/A): He made a good cross to create Kerala Blasters FC's first goal but was substituted later due to an injury.
Alvaro Vazquez (6/10): Vazquez was not effective enough to find space for himself and was not up to the mark. He rarely managed to get into scoring areas for Kerala Blasters FC.
Jorge Diaz (8/10): Diaz scored the second goal for Kerala Blasters FC on the night with an impeccable finish. He lurked around the opposition throughout the game and had a decent ISL debut.
🗣️ @Che7cho reflects on the opening day of the campaign.
#ATKMBKBFC #YennumYellow #KBFC #കേരളബ്ലാസ്റ്റേഴ്സ് https://t.co/fkGgew4Gv1
Substitutes
Sandeep Singh (7/10): Sandeep replaced a stumbled Harmanjot Khabra in the second half. He did manage to provide stability to the Kerala Blasters FC defense.
Ayush Adhikari (7/10): Adhikari had some individual moments of brilliance and was instrumental in a very decent second half for Kerala Blasters FC.
Chencho Gyeltshen: (7/10): Gyeltshen came on late in the second half and had one moment of brilliance. The Bhutanese had the opportunity to score for Kerala Blasters but missed the target from a tight angle.