Past showing gives Chennaiyin FC hope

Chennaiyin FC will need to play out of their skin and grab full points in their next two matches to stay alive in Hero Indian Super League.

The defending champions are placed seventh with 14 points from 12 matches and need six points to possibly make the grade. Such battles are no alien to Chennaiyin FC and they will have to prove they can do an encore, starting with NorthEast United FC at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai, on Saturday.

Last season, Chennaiyin FC were struggling at the bottom for most part but turned their fortunes around with a late surge, not just qualifying for the semi-finals but going on to win the title at FC Goa’s expense in Goa. This time, not everything has worked according to plan or Marco Materazzi but all is still not lost for the defending champions.

“We knew we were in a must-win situation and now we know that we have to win the next two games to get six points and we have shown (in the past) we can battle every team,” said Materazzi.

Chennaiyin FC have lost three of their last five matches, including the last one against Mumbai City FC, but they cannot afford any-more slips-ups against Mumbai City on Saturday and FC Goa next week.