Following a 2-0 win over Mumbai City FC in the 2015 Hero Indian Super League (ISL) on Friday, Chennaiyin FC are well and truly back in the competition. Chennai, who reached the semi-finals last season, suffered back-to-back defeats before beating FC Goa on Sunday, and at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Friday his team definitely went from strength to strength.

Following up his hat-trick against Goa with a brace, Stiven Mendoza was again Chennai’s top performer but the man who again proved that he was selfless was Brazilian Elano who set up Mendoza’s first goal. Speaking to the media after the match, Chennaiyin FC head coach Marco Materazzi praised the selfless Elano. “All my players are dedicated. All my players are champions, for example he [Elano] chose to pass the ball to Mendoza to score instead of scoring himself…he played for the team not self-glory,” the Italian said.

“It's really important that Elano and Mendoza know each other. But they both know that they playing for the team and not self-glory. But our positives also lie in our defence. In the second half we got a boost that helped us win the game.”

For the second game running, Chennai, who scored maximum goals last season, came out with a clean sheet, leaving Materazzi proud of his boys. “Last year we always scored one goal more than our opponents. This year I'm really proud of my team and the winning is boosting their confidence,” he said.

“I'm happy because this is exactly what I asked [of the defence], to stay compact and together. We knew that we had the capabilities and this time we proved it.”

However, when asked to compare this win to the one against Goa, Materazzi said, “I can't compare both games. When playing against Goa our target was to not to lose the third game but in this game we knew our strengths. We're really happy we got six points in [the last] two games.”

Mumbai City assistant coach Oscar Bruzon came to address the media and said his team needed to work on a few areas. “We need to be more flexible and keep possession. We are creating chances but we have some problems at the back.”

Despite Mumbai picking up one point from three matches, the Spaniard wasn’t disheartened and promised to work harder. “I want to win the ISL. We are not taking anything lightly. We will work harder,” he said.