Soosairaj (5’) helped Chennai draw first blood in the game, which was cancelled out by Chencho Gyeltshen (26’). Aleksandar Rakic (60’) found the net after Soosairaj set him up with a brilliant ball from midfield. 

Chennai City made three changes to the line-up that was humiliated 7-1 by East Bengal. Surprisingly, even after conceding seven goals goalkeeper Kabir Taufiq retained his place under the sticks, whereas Vigneshwaran Baskaran continued to warm the bench. 

Pradeep Mohanraj and Sebastian Thangmuansang were the two changes in defense as Dharmaraj Ravanan and Veniamin Shumeiko continued to pair up at the heart of defence. Although Minerva Punjab started the game with more intensity and purpose, it was Chennai’s Soosairaj who found the opening goal of the match with just five minutes on the clock. An inch-perfect Vanspaul cross from the right flank fell to the feet of Soosairaj. 

The skipper triggered a shot but Kiran stuck out a hand to stop it from going in. Unfortunately, the rebound fell for Soosairaj who did not fail to score from a simple tap-in.  

After conceding early, Minerva doubled its attacking prowess in search for equalizer. In the 26th minute, Minerva found its equaliser and it was Chencho, who delivered the goods. 

It was a long ball from Amandeep Singh which was latched onto by Chencho inside the box and the Bhutan national team skipper did not think twice before shooting it past Kabir. 

Akashdeep Singh could have doubled the lead right after the half-hour mark, but a spectacular save from Kabir smothered the attempt from outside the box to keep Chennai in the game.