AFC CUP 2019: Chennaiyin FC depend on Minerva Punjab for qualification

The group stage of AFC Cup 2019 has reached a climax and in one week, the fate of Indian Super League (ISL) side Chennaiyin FC will be decided.

I-League club Minerva Punjab crashed out of the competition after Abahani Dhaka thrashed Manang Marshyangdi Club 5-0 at home on Wednesday. The 2017/18 I-League champions remain unbeaten in the five games they have played in the group stage but the failure to win a single game has left them five points short of group leaders Dhaka with one game left.

However, Minerva Punjab can still play a crucial part in the qualification scenario as Chennaiyin’s fate now rests in the hands of the I-League club.

Keeping in mind that only one team qualifies, we take a look at the qualification scenarios in Group E.

Chennaiyin fail to beat Manang Marshyangdi – Abahani Dhaka qualify

Should the 2017/18 ISL champions lose or draw their game in Nepal, their AFC Cup campaign will hit a roadblock. Regardless of the result from Abahani Dhaka’s game against Minerva Punjab, the Bangladeshi club will qualify.

Chennaiyin beat Manang Marshyangdi and Abahani Dhaka fail to beat Minerva Punjab – Chennaiyin qualify

The ISL club will qualify for the knockouts should the above scenario play out. If Minerva Punjab beat Abahani Dhaka, Chennaiyin will qualify as group leaders with their 11 points exceeding Abahani Dhaka’s tally by one.

A draw in the game between Abahani Dhaka and Minerva Punjab will also prove beneficial to Chennaiyin. The top two teams will both finish with 11 points in this case. The head-to-head point-difference tie-breaker will fail to resolve the situation as both teams enjoyed one-goal victories at home.

However, Chennaiyin lost 3-2 at Abahani Dhaka and won 1-0 at home. The ISL club will hence qualify on the virtue of scoring more goals away from home.

Chennaiyin beat Manang Marshyangdi and Abahani Dhaka beat Minerva Punjab – Abahani Dhaka qualify

Abahani Dhaka will qualify with 13 points, two more than Chennaiyin’s 11.

To sum up, Chennaiyin must win their game and hope that Minerva Punjab get a result against Abahani Dhaka in order to qualify.