Chennai: Former Hull City wing-back Bernard Mendy scored what's being talked about as the best goal in the Indian Super League (ISL) so far, with his team-mate cum manager at Chennaiyin FC, Marco Materazzi, calling it one of the best he has ever seen.
Watched by the legends of Bollywood and cricket, Chennaiyin FC's first home game gave the fans much thrill, which went up several notches as Mendy's cycle-kick strike provided the icing on the cake in the presence of Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Rajinikanth and Abhishek Bachchan.
The hosts went on to beat Kerala Blasters FC 2-1 in the Southern derby at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Tuesday, after which Materazzi praised the home support and Mendy's super goal.
Brazilian import Elano Blumer put Chennai ahead and Mendy broke the 1-1 deadlock after Iain Hume came drew Kerala level. "Mendy was fantastic. It was one of the best goals I have seen not only in the ISL but overall as well," said Materazzi at the post-match press conference.
With this win, Chennaiyin FC now have two wins from as many matches while Kerala are at the bottom of the table having lost both their games in the inaugural edition of the ISL.
Mendy's magical strike in the 63rd minute made even Kerala Blasters' co-owner Tendulkar jump and applaud while Amitabh, Chennaiyin co-owner Abhishek and Rajinikanth erupted in joy.
Mendy pulled off a brave overhead kick to score after Elano's free-kick was directed towards the French defender through a header by Harmanjot Khabra.
Materazzi also thanked the Chennai crowd for their support. "We are really excited to win the first home match. I think their [crowd] support helped us a lot and we also gave them reason to cheer."
Chennaiyin FC took the lead in the first half with Brazilian international Elano making no mistake in converting the penalty to make it 1-0 for his side. It was in the 14th minute that the home team was awarded with the penalty after Kerala defender Gurwinder Singh made a flying ill-timed tackle on Abhishek Das.
Elano said he was happy to help out the team at every opportunity. "I have to do a job for my team no matter where I play. It is important to help out the team at every opportunity," he said.
On the physical nature of the game, the former Manchester City and Galatasaray midfielder said: "Yes it was quite physical but I am used to it and thanks to God I have the skills and experience to deal with it."
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