From 3-1 down for over half an hour, Kerala Blasters made a fantastic turnaround to draw 3-3 with Chennaiyin FC in a pulsating Southern derby encounter at Kochi. The Returning Dimitrios Diamantakos scored a brace for the home side including the match-saving strike in the second half while Kwame Pephrah scored his first competitive goal for the club. Ex-Kerala Blasters striker Jordan Murray scored twice for the visitors as well with Rahim Ali scoring the opener within seconds of the match.
The draw kept the Tuskers on top of the ISL standings with 17 points after eight games while the Marina Machans remain out of the playoff spot in seventh collecting only eight. Ivan Vukomanovic’s team will travel to Fatorda next for a huge top-two clash against FC Goa in three days’s time. Chennaiyin FC will be on the travel again facing Jamshedpur FC at the Furnace next week.
Fortress
Kerala Blasters have now extended their unbeaten run at home to six games with four of them being victories. The Tuskers have scored in each game at Kochi this season, netting 10 times, while managing to keep a clean sheet in two of them.
Unbeaten
Having not lost to Chennaiyin FC since a mammoth 3-6 loss back in 2020, Kerala Blasters are now unbeaten in the last seven meetings with the Marina Machans. Three of them have resulted in a victory while five have been draws.
Scoring machine
Teams managed by Owen Coyle in the ISL, Chennaiyin FC and Jamshedpur FC, have scored 19 goals against Kerala Blasters. This is the highest tally for the manager against any single opponent in the competition.
Winless
Chennaiyin FC are winless in three of the four away games this season. After starting the season with back-to-back defeats on the road to Odisha FC and NorthEast United without scoring a goal, Owen Coyle’s side have picked up a win and a draw in the last two matches.
Talisman
Adrian Luna has a hand in five of the nine goals scored by Kerala Blasters in the last five matches. The Uruguayan has now provided more assists with four, combined for most goals with seven (3 goals, 4 assists) and created more chances (25) than any other player this season in the ISL.
Derby King
Luna has also combined for half of the 12 goals scored by Kerala Blasters in the last five meetings with Chennaiyin FC. The 31-year-old has scored six goals and provided an equal number of assists since he first played the fixture in December 2021.
Creator
Rafael Crivellaro has combined for six of the nine goals scored by Chennaiyin FC this season. He has also created 16 chances which is more than any other player in the team.
16
Pritam Kotal has made the most number of interceptions in ISL this season with 16. The former Mohun Bagan star has averaged 2.2 interceptions per 90 in eight matches so far.
