Defending champions Chennaiyin slumped to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Saturday. Edu Bedia, Coro and Mourtada Fall scored for the Gaurs while Eli Sabiya bagged a consolation for the Marina Blues.
This was Chennaiyin’s second straight defeat after the 1-0 loss to Bengaluru FC in their ISL 2018 opener.
Fresh from a 2-2 draw against NorthEast United, Sergio Lobera’s side started with last season’s Golden Boot winner Coro up front.
Goa took the lead in the 12th minute when some sloppy defending from the home side allowed Lenny Rodrigues to slide the ball into the box. Coro missed it but Bedia was on hand to slide it home for the opener.
In what was an ill-tempered clash, referee Rowan Arumugam had to show four yellow cards in the first half. Anirudh Thapa had a good chance to level the score but his shot was high from just outside the box.
At the start of the second half, some more lackadaisical defending allowed Coro to steal in on goal and shoot past Karanjit. Fall then added gloss to the scoreline when Bedia’s corner was re-directed in by Jahouh. Coro nicked the cross and Fall headed it in for Goa’s third goal.
Sabiya’s header off a corner in the 95th minute did little to change the outcome as Goa got their first win of the season. Chennaiyin now have zero points from two games.