The Kolkata Derby between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan SG will always be one of the most eclectic matches in Indian football with an average crowd of 60,000 and a rivalry that spans over a century. The off-field rivalry between fans sets this match up as one of the most sought-after fixtures in the sport.
On the field though, in terms of results, there seems to be no rivalry. Mohun Bagan have dominated East Bengal, stretching their unbeaten run against their city rivals to nine in the Indian Super League.
On Saturday when the two teams met again, Bagan romped to an easy 2-0 victory. Such was their dominance that East Bengal could muster just one shot on target.
Bagan controlled the tempo of the match from start to finish, as a goal each from Jamie Maclaren and Dimitrios Petratos in either half was enough for Jose Molina’s men to secure their eighth win against the Red & Gold Brigade in ISL.
Bagan have arguably the best side on paper this season with a focus on their attack. And it was on full display in front of the capacity crowd. Attack after attack, the Mariners maintained a high momentum and tested the Red and Gold Brigade. Their relentless attacks finally bore fruit in the 41st minute when Manvir Singh, with a sensational cross, found Maclaren in space. The Australian tucked it past Prabhsukhan Gill to hand Mohun Bagan Super Giant the lead.
The second half saw more of the same as Bagan enjoyed majority of possession, but this time, their attack was even more relentless.
Bagan’s Liston Colaco needs to be singled out for praise. The winger kept finding himself in the right spaces, starting counter-attacks and even trying long-rangers. To have an Indian player with such confidence on the ball is a great sign for the national team.
East Bengal need to recover, and fast. They are last on the ISL table with five losses from as many games and things don’t seem to be looking upward. Their struggles have also been marked by significant changes off the field. Head coach Carles Cuadrat, who led the team to victory in the Kalinga Super Cup 2023, resigned, leading to the hiring of Oscar Bruzon, former manager of Bangladesh Super League club Bashundhara Kings.
Table-top clash
In the week’s top-of-the-table match, 10-man Bengaluru FC held onto their 1-0 lead to beat Punjab FC and maintain their unbeaten run this season and their position as league leaders. Considering their abysmal result last season, they seem to have done a complete turnaround, even setting a new record for most minutes without conceding from the start of an ISL season (481 minutes) overtaking Jamshedpur FC (389 minutes at the start of 2017-18 season).
A solitary goal from Naorem Roshan Singh was enough to hand Zaragoza’s side their fourth victory of the season. And it was a blinder of a goal.
Jorge Pereyra Diaz’s cross from inside the 18-yard area deflected onto the path of Roshan. The left-back, with a clear view of the goal, bulged the net with a thunderous left-footed drive that gave the goalkeeper no chance.
Punjab have been excellent this season, but against a sturdy Bengaluru defence, they struggled to create inroads and were forced to try long-rangers to no success.
With the loss, they slid to fourth on the ISL table though they have a game in hand.
ISL scheduling ‘complete disaster’
Indian national coach, Manolo Marquez, who is also the head coach of FC Goa, came out strongly against the scheduling of the ISL games, saying it’s detrimental to both the clubs and the national team.
“The breaks are very big because the fixtures are a complete disaster. This is the reality. They don’t take care about the national team,” Marquez said.
“The national team finished (playing on Saturday) then the ISL doesn’t start six or seven days later. But they stopped the ISL (on October 5) and the national team has to play in two (three) days.
“Lebanon withdrew in the end but if Lebanon had played, then we would have had to play them three days after the last ISL game (before the international break), which is not normal.”
Marquez said he preferred if the games were played on weekends, a solution that could benefit the ISL clubs.
“I don’t want to speak about TV rights, but to play one ISL game every day (is not for me). I prefer all the games over the weekend, if it’s possible to play altogether, then better,” he said.
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