India humiliated Thailand in their opening encounter of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup by defeating them 4-1. The readers can read the match report here.
India’s talisman Sunil Chhetri drew first blood for India in the 27th minute after converting a penalty kick. Thailand restored their parity six minutes later but the Blue Tigers regained their lead within a minute of the second half’s restart thanks to Sunil Chhetri.
India showed no signs of complacency as they doubled the lead in the 68th minute through Anirudh Thapa. Substitute Jeje Lalpekhlua hit the final nail in the coffin in the 80th minute to punish the Thai side.
Twitteratis were all praise for India’s second-half performance and Sunil Chhetri’s brace. Moreover, they took pride in shutting the mouth of Thai fans who were constantly teasing the Indians in the run-up to the match.
Here is the quirkiest of the lot:
Considering the bigger picture, this is a good but small start. But I'll talk about just this game – it was bloody brilliant to be a part of the way my team went about things. And it's even more special knowing we made a country happy, even if it is only for a day.🙏🙏
— Sunil Chhetri (@chetrisunil11) January 6, 2019
Fans 🙌, we've had quite a day today. This one's for you! 💙🇮🇳#BlueTigers #BackTheBlue #AsianDream #IndianFootball #THAIND
📸: AFC Media pic.twitter.com/0sv5Crheiq
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) January 6, 2019
Holy shit! Where did that second half performance come from? That Chhetri goal early in the half was really, really crucial. Credit to Constantine for getting his set-up spot on. Kuruniyan massive!
— Bhargab Sarmah (@BhargabSarmah) January 6, 2019
We didn’t come this far to just come this far we came to go further and be stronger. A big thank you to travelling @BluePilgrims and the people who supported us back home! #IndiaInUAE pic.twitter.com/JBEVZRABMT
— Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (@GurpreetGK) January 6, 2019
It’s criminal how little attention @chetrisunil11 gets when compared to other successful sportspeople in the country like Kohli, Sindhu. This man is an all time great. Let’s enjoy every bit of him.
Captain. Legend. Leader.— Indranil Das Blah (@indranildasblah) January 6, 2019
What is the greatest service you can do to #IndianFootball today?
Stop talking about the World Cup and India's chances of qualifying for next 10 years. Erase that word from the Indian football lexicon.
Concentrate on next 3-4 Asian Cups. Learn to walk before running a marathon.
— Arka Bhattacharya (@ArkaTweets10) January 6, 2019
In my 24 years of following Indian football, I have never been more impressed by a national team performance. It's not just about the scoreline but the way we played, the way we dominated. Incredible. Watching it live was a lifetime experience. https://t.co/rm6TX7Mta0
— Somnath Sengupta (@baggiholic) January 6, 2019
He's taken the lead! With that brace, the skipper is now the second highest active goal scorer in International football. #CaptainFantastic #OneSunilChhetri #THAIND 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/5Tt7mukcGu
— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) January 6, 2019
The Indians are having a party 🎉🇮🇳👏#AsianCup2019 pic.twitter.com/0e0EZZrwgm
— #AsianCup2019 (@afcasiancup) January 6, 2019
Stephen Constantine hate industry now – 😂😂😂#Indianfootball #AsianCup2019 #THAIND pic.twitter.com/tVfTnDa2Mp
— football news india (@fni) January 6, 2019
#Mood#AsianDream #indianfootball @fni pic.twitter.com/J8TTvQIKTq
— Pulasta Dhar (@TheFalseNo9) January 6, 2019
What an inspiring performance that was from @IndianFootball. So proud of the boys. Let's keep this going! #THAIND 🇮🇳
— CK Vineeth (@ckvineeth) January 6, 2019
That 2nd half is perhaps the best India has played in a long, long time. Udanta, Ashique, Thapa, Narzary were outstanding. Kotal was such a big surprise after a terrible season. Bose keeps getting better.. Jeje finds his scoring touch. Chhetri adds to his legend #THAIND #AsianCup
— Mihir Vasavda (@mihirsv) January 6, 2019
Back in 2011, I remember rushing home from work only to see @IndianFootball get their asses handed to them in the #AsianCup. Today's 4-1 win (their first win since 1964) in their opener was amazing to watch and made all that suffering worth it! #AsianCup2019 #THAIND #BackTheBlue pic.twitter.com/OL8Ml51fie
— Rohith Nair (@RohithNair) January 6, 2019
Great idea to have a few fans in the studio, Star Sports. pic.twitter.com/VMTxt5zvNm
— Bhargab Sarmah (@BhargabSarmah) January 6, 2019
The STATEMENT!
UAE takeover in full force. #BluePilgrimsUAETakeOver #THAIND pic.twitter.com/aGZ5BN5pcl
— Blue Pilgrims (@BluePilgrims) January 6, 2019
#Indianfootball occupying almost all the top trends in Indian twitter an hour back according to @trendinaliaIN #Indianfootball pic.twitter.com/o7XiIKncUm
— football news india (@fni) January 6, 2019
India have never lost an international game when Sunil Chhetri has scored more than once.
Massive result incoming?#AsianCup2019 #IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #AsianDream #INDvTHA #asiancup2019 #AsianCup
— Aditya Warty (@AnalystAdi) January 6, 2019
Credit where due, @IndianFootball did well to stick with Constantine despite the differences with top bosses and the players. The easier thing would've been to sack him, as we've seen in cricket and hockey. But they chose to look at the results instead. Fair play #THAIND
— Mihir Vasavda (@mihirsv) January 6, 2019