Alberto Rodriguez struck twice as Mohun Bagan Super Giant recorded a come-from-behind 3-1 win over 10-man Punjab FC in the Indian Super League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday.
Punjab FC drew the first blood, courtesy a great strike from Ricky Shabong (12th), whereas the Mariners retaliated with a strong second-half performance which saw Rodriguez (48th, 69th) scoring a brace and Jamie Maclaren (64th) converting from the spot.
It was a swift start for the hosts as Nikhil Prabhu tried his luck from long range and struck the crossbar, handing the Mohun Bagan defenders and Vishal Kaith a wake-up call early on.
In the 12th minute, the visitors were again caught ball-watching and this time Punjab FC made them pay, courtesy of a brilliant solo effort from Ricky. The young midfielder found a pocket of space on the left flank and drove forward.
He eventually nestled the ball into the net past Kaith as the defenders failed to close down the space in the penalty area.
Mohun Bagan almost came up with the equaliser when Asish Rai found himself in space and made a great volley on target. But Punjab FC custodian Ravi Kumar was alert to the danger as he parried it away.
While the Mariners were clearly lacking a creative outlet on the field, Punjab FC's all-Indian backline also made life difficult for Jason Cummings and Maclaren upfront. The most impressive of the lot was Pramveer Singh, who became the youngest player to start an ISL match at the age of 17 years and 189 days.
The second half started strongly for the visitors as Rodriguez rose highest from a corner delivered by Cummings to turn in the equaliser in the 48th minute.
It was an excellent delivery as the Spaniard reacted before Ravi Kumar to head it home. This was Mohun Bagan Super Giant's seventh goal from a corner this season, the highest in the competition.
Three minutes later, things turned from bad to worse for Punjab FC as Ezequiel Vidal was penalised for a challenge on Liston Colaco. He was initially booked for the foul and was later sent off for dissent, reducing the hosts to 10 men.
Jose Molina's men were rewarded for their persistent pressure as the referee pointed to the spot after Anirudh Thapa was brought down in the penalty area. Maclaren stood up to the spot and hammered it home, handing Mohun Bagan the lead in the 63rd minute.
Eventually, they scored the third goal in the 69th minute when Thapa turned creator following a corner and found Rodriguez in space in the penalty area. The Spaniard made no mistake in completing his brace.
Molina turned to Sahal Abdul Samad in the 78th minute replacing Maclaren and he almost increased the lead but his effort was parried away by Ravi Kumar.
Eventually, the visitors did enough to secure all three points as they ended the year five points clear atop, with 29 points as compared to the second-placed Bengaluru FC's 24.
Mohun Bagan will now return home to host Hyderabad FC on January 2 whereas Punjab FC will lock horns against Kerala Blasters FC on January 5.
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