Another week comes along and with it, another ISL Player of the Week!
There has been a handful of games this week and it’s been covered with a little bit of shock and a bit of Bengaluru brilliance. The table toppers securing their play-off position with a 2-0 win against FC Goa.
Bengaluru’s next opponents have had a massive week in term of results and have climbed the table to second, they are Pune City.
They started the week with a tricky fixture away at NorthEast and picked up a late 1-0 win. This was followed by an even better victory on the road at Mumbai City, winning 2-0 and climbing up to second.
Without further ado, this week’s winner is none other than Marcelinho!
Vs NorthEast | 0-1 | G: 1
Vs Mumbai | 0-2 | G:1
Pune’s first win of the week came at NorthEast. It was an end to end affair with it looking like nothing was going to separate the teams.
This is what it looked like all the way until the 86th minute. Marcelinho was played through on goal late into the affair, holding off two defenders as he powered his way into the box and got his shot away, a slight touch by TP Rehenesh was not enough to keep the ball out and Pune were gifted the three points.
If that win showed their resilience to keep pushing to earn scrappy wins, then their second win of the week was decided from two moments of taking advantage of poor defending.
Although going through the contest with less of the ball and making significantly fewer passes, Pune came away from Mumbai with all three points and another clean sheet.
When your luck is in, it makes games that little easier. A tough game at Mumbai was enough to get some nerves going, those nerves were definitely settled when an early cross was deflected into his own net by Mumbai defender Diego Carlos.
The game was once again settled by a late Marcelinho goal. One thing the Brazilian talisman thrives on is the little pockets of space throughout games. A counter-attack in the 83rd minute was finished expertly across goal after the striker peeled off the left-hand side of the defence to give his side another impressive three points.
No Golden Boot Hangover?
After winning the Golden Boot award with Delhi Dynamos last season, the hardest thing to do is to replicate the success. Marcelinho is on course to equal that record and even more. Being involved in eight goals and seven assists this season, only Ferran Corominas has been involved in more.
With three more games in the regular season remaining, who knows what the Brazilian can finish on?