Ghana midfielder Michael Essien played a key role for Persib Bandung in their 2-1 win over leaders PSM Makassar on Wednesday evening.

The former Chelsea ace played almost the entire duration as Persib opened up the Indonesian title race even further on the night.

Persib opened the scoring in the Shohei Matsunaga in the 40th minute before Atep Rizal added the second in the 55th minute.

PSM reduced the deficit through Dutch midfielder Wiljan Pluim in the 72nd minute, but it only proved to be consolation at the end of the game.

Essien was replaced in the 90th minute with Horiono when the three points looked to have been secured.

Speaking after the game, assistant coach of Persib Bandung Herrie Setiawan said, “This is an critical victory for the staff and it is an critical victory for mentor Djadjang."

“We did what we experienced to do and took the sport to PSM. The gamers labored challenging for the end result."