Toppers FC Goa trounce Delhi Dynamos
NEWDELHI: FC Goa continued their impressive run in the Indian Super League (ISL) as they trounced Delhi Dynamos 5-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday. Thanks to the victory, Sergio Lobera’s men are currently at the top of table with Bengaluru FC trailing them on goal difference.
Delhi Dynamos made a slight tweak to their formation with Kalu Uche playing as a supporting striker to Guyon Fernandez and that worked wonders for the hosts. They started the game strong and the extra man in the midfield allowed them to close down the supply line to FC Goa’s in-form striker Ferran Corominas.
As a result, the visitors were unable to play their trademark passing football and the frustration was evident in their erratic tackling. Delhi Dynamos even came close to scoring the 31st minute but Paulinho Dias’ volley smashed into the crossbar before going out of play.
But, it was FC Goa who broke the deadlock just before half-time with Corominas adding another goal to his tally. A free-kick from Manuel Lanzarote took a deflection off Fernandez inside the box and Coro had no problems in finding the back of the net from close range for his eight goal of the ISL.
The goal was exactly what FC Goa needed to boost their confidence and the visitors doubled their lead within just two minutes as Lanzarote scored from outside the box. The Spanish midfielder, who has five goals to his name, received a through ball from Ferran Corominas just outside the box and he calmly chipped it over the goalkeeper’s head to continue his impressive run.
The hosts were boosted by the introduction of talented winger Lallianzuala Chhangte and their attacks became much more lethal. The impact was almost instantaneous as Romeo Fernandes made a brilliant run down the right and skipper Kalu Uche completed the tap-in for Dynamos’ first home goal.
However, it all started going downhill for Delhi Dynamos from there as defender Gabriel Cichero was sent off after picking up a second yellow card in the 65th minute. That opened the floodgates for FC Goa as Pritam Kotal conceded an own goal and the two substitutes - Adrien Colunga and Manuel Arana - scored within a span of three minutes to complete a comprehensive victory for the visitors.
MUMBAI FACE ATK
MUMBAI: A confident Mumbai City FC will take on defending champions ATK in Mumbai on Sunday. In another match, Bengaluru FC host Chennaiyin FC.