FC Goa thrashed Chennaiyin 3-0 on Wednesday as The Gaurs, under Sergio Lobera, won on their first outing of the Indian Super League 2019-20.
Seiminlen Doungel, on his Goa debut, scored the first goal for the home side while Ferran Corominas doubled the lead in the second half. Defender Carlos Pena netted the third goal of the night to cap off a clinical performance for Goa.
Chennaiyin, with seven new faces in the line-up, caused no trouble for Goa, which also clinched a clean sheet on Wednesday.
Here are the major talking points from the face-off:
1) Seiminlen Doungel becomes first Indian goal scorer of sixth season
Tapping in from Manvir Singh's pulled-back delivery, Seiminlen Doungel opened the account for Goa. The 25-year-old became the first Indian to score this season with his 30th-minute strike.
Balwant Singh (season 1), Jeje Lalpekhlua (season 2), Jayesh Rane (season 3), Mandar Rao Dessai (season 4), and Rana Gharami (season 5) were the first Indian goal scorers in the previous editions.
2) Ferran Corominas plays in the number 10 role
Star foreigner Ferran Corominas started behind Manvir Singh, operating in the number 10 role. Coro, who found the net despite not being the target man, usually plays as the number 9.
Operating as the attacking midfielder, Coro picked out his forwards with fine passes, finding space between the Chennaiyin defenders.
Coro was also one of the only three foreigners who started for Goa, and the only one in attack for the host.
3) Manvir Singh unsung hero in Goa's win
Although Manvir Singh did not feature on the score sheet for the Goan outfit, the youngster put up a commendable performance in attack and was pivotal in the team's victory.
Unselfish in his effort, Manvir pulled back a pass for Doungel to draw the first blood, when he was in a good spot in the box to score it himself.
READ | FC Goa begins campaign with comfortable 3-0 win over Chennaiyin FC
The Indian international was also involved in the build-up of the second goal, wherein he combined with Jackichand Singh to help set up Corominas.
4) New-look Chennaiyin no threat to Goa
With as many as seven new faces in the starting XI, John Gregory named a new-look Chennayin for the Goan test but the Chennai-based side lacked cohesion.
Captain Lucian Goian had a night to forget while fellow foreigners Dragos Firtulescu and Andre Schembri failed to create clear-cut chances in attack.
Youngster Lallianzuala Chhangte, who was roped in from Delhi Dynamos (now rebranded as Odisha FC) too did not live up to the expectations as the midfielder failed to get to the byline.
Anirudh Thapa, who was named on the bench, was brought on only in the second half and couldn't do much to change Chennaiyin's fortune.
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