Tamil Nadu rode on a superb hat-trick by Muthu to beat Manipur 3-1 and storm into the semi-finals of the 63rd Santosh Trophy football tournament in Chennai on Saturday.
Manipur's goal was scored by Mutum Bijen Singh, in the 55th minute, with a long-range shot.
Although Manipur and Tamil Nadu ended the group stage tied on four points, a better goal difference helped the hosts advance to the last-four stage.
The hosts rarely gave their opponents an opening, except once when Manipur reduced the margin in the second half.
The quartet of Riju, Kulothungan, Muthu and Mohan Raj, backed by a solid defence, were up to the task upfront.
Manipur did fight back in the second half but the effort was too little too late.
Muthu's first goal came in the 28th minute through a spot kick when Manipur's Thomas Singh handled the ball, preventing Riju from taking a shot at the goal.
In the space of two minutes, Muthu slotted in a brace of goals. In the 34th minute, he intercepted Thomas Singh's back pass and dragged goalkeeper Lokeshwar Singh out before slotting one in.
In the next minute, he wriggled out of an off-side trap after intercepting a diagonal pass from Mohan Raj and found the net.
