League leaders Hyderabad FC were beaten by two goals to one when they faced ATK Mohun Bagan in the ongoing Hero Indian Super League 2021-22. Manvir Singh and Liston Colaco were both on target as ATKMB eked out a narrow win to get back into top four. The teams played out an entertaining end to end match dominated by both teams in certain phases of the game.
ATKMB manager Juan Ferrando opted for a 4-2-3-1 with Lenny Rodrigues and Carl McHugh starting as the holding midfielders. Williams started again in absence of Roy Krishna, while Manvir, Hugo Boumos and Liston were playing just behind Williams. The game started with ATKMB on the offense, but that rhythm was soon disturbed due to the subsequent injuries to Hugo Boumos and Carl McHugh. In came Finnish Joni Kauko and young star Kiyan Nassiri. Kiyan provided much needed support upfront for Williams while Kauko generally played box to box and was solid in the defense too. He contributed one assist for the team, during the second goal which Manvir scored.
Hyderabad FC started with their go to 4-2-3-1 with Bart Ogbeche the sole striker upfront. Hyderabad had some glorious chances in both the halves which should have been converted. Joel Chianese started behind Ogbeche, with Aniket Jadhav and Nikhil Poojari on his either side. Joao Victor provided much solidity in the middle of the midfield and he was aided by the Indian Souvik Chakrabarty. Sana Singh started at the heart of the heart of the Hyderabad defense and was crucial with his long ball prowess and solidity as well.
The game really became end to end near the end of the first half. ATKMB didn't look like a team which has had to have made two forced changes. They kept the ball, pressed and made a lot of opportunities to score. In the second half, the goals started coming in. First it was Liston's blazing run which hit Hyderabad FC on the counter. Him being in his own half when David Williams made the assist cleared any doubts of offside.
The second goal by Manvir was another piece of art. Kauko played a lovely little chip over the HFC defense to find Manvir, who cut inside on his favored left foot and slotted home from close range. ATKMB had several great opportunities after that as well, but failed to convert them Liston notably should have scored a hattrick, but could put the ball in an empty net from two occasions. David Williams had to be taken off in the second half due to an injury to his hamstring, and hence ATKMB defended deep relying on occasional counter attacks to release the pressure.
Hyderabad FC truly came to life in the second half of the game and were unlucky not to come out with point at least. HFC stayed true to their style of playing short ground passes, with Sana Singh playing a vital role in playing out from the back. After conceding two goals within five minutes, HFC truly came to life. They completely dominated ATKMB with their quick passing and created so many opportunities to score. They were ultimately rewarded when ATKMB keeper Amrinder Singh fumbled a long ranger by Joao Victor and Chianese slotted home from close ranger. Edu Garcia came on in the 80th minute, but it the HFC attack failed to breach the ATKMB defense for the second time to find the equalizer.
With this win, ATKMB move back into the top four with 23 points from 13 matches. Hyderabad FC remain on top with 25 points from 15 matches. The title race seems to get heated with each passing day. With teams like Kerala Blasters, Jamshedpur FC and Bengaluru FC still heavily in the fray, the winner of this seasons ISL is anyone's guess at this point of time.
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