Chennaiyin FC established a clear lead of three points at the top of the Indian Super League (ISL) by defeating Peter Reid's Mumbai City FC 3-0 on Sunday night at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. The only small consolation for the 23,857 disappointed home fans was their first sight of former Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg in almost a month. Ljungberg came on as a first half substitute after being out of action because of a hamstring strain since his previous outing as a substitute on Oct 24 against NorthEast United. The win takes Chennaiyin to 19 points from 10 matches. Early pace setters Atletico de Kolkata are second on 16 points, having played an equal number of matches. The race for the top honours in the league phase promises to be an exciting one with third placed Kerala Blasters just one point behind Kolkata. Though the scoreline suggests an easy victory for Chennai, the visitors had to sweat it out for most of the game. The match was goalless in the 70th minute and it appeared that the impressive Mumbai defence, led by former Borussia Dortmund centre-back Manuel Friedrich, would keep a sixth consecutive clean sheet. However, Chennai took control in the last 20 minutes with three well-taken goals. Brazilian midfielder Bruno Pelissari opened the scoring in the 71st minute followed by defender Dhanachandra Singh in the 81st. Substitute Cristian Hidalgo then netted with one minute remaining. The first half turned out to be a midfield tussle with both teams struggling to create chances. The game missed the creativity of Chennai's tournament top scorer Elano and the pace of Mumbai striker Nicolas Anelka. The two former Premier League stars were rested by their respective teams. Chennai had a scare when right-back Bernand Mendy was dispossessed just outside the area by Mumbai's Brazilian midfielder Andre Moritz. However, the visitors' French goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano came to their rescue with a low diving save. Mumbai's Tiago Ribeiro's shot off the ensuing rebound was deflected by Chennai's former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre for a corner. In the 32nd minute, Mumbai's marquee player Ljungberg came on as a substitute for the injured Moritz. Ljungberg had been out of action since a sustaining a hamstring strain last month in Mumbai while playing as a substitute against Northeast United. The Arsenal legend had also missed the start of the ISL through a leg injury sustained in training before the tournament began. The second half also witnessed a midfield tussle. However, in the 71st minute, Chennai's Jeje Lalpekhlua played the ball across for strike partner Balwant Singh. The ball fell nicely for Pelissari who came up with a clinical finish. The lead was doubled from Mumbai's scrappy clearance of a Chennai free kick. The ball fell to Dhanachandra Singh, who made no mistake. Chennai substitute Hidalgo completed the tally through a brilliant free kick that curled in past a diving Mumbai goalkeeper Subrata Paul. Peter Reid will hope to rescue his side's faltering campaign when Mumbai City travel to the national capital to take on Delhi Dynamos FC on Nov 28. Chennai will look to preserve their ISL lead when they travel to Guwahati to play NorthEast United FC a day earlier.
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