East Bengal Triumphs Over Chennaiyin FC, Eyes Top Six Finish

Sayak Banerjee / 26/02/2024

East Bengal finally claimed a crucial victory in the Indian Super League (ISL) by defeating Chennaiyin FC 1-0 at home. This win was essential for East Bengal to remain in contention for a top-six finish, as they face a series of challenging matches ahead against Odisha FC, Goa, Mohun Bagan, and Kerala Blasters. All these teams, except Mohun Bagan, will be faced in away games, making the upcoming fixtures even more daunting.

Coach Carles Cuadrat set up his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Felicio Brown spearheading the attack. However, the strategy to play Cleiton Silva slightly deeper limited East Bengal’s chances in the first half, which ended goalless.

At the start of the second half, Cuadrat made three substitutions, bringing on Mandar Rao Desai, Alexander Pantic, and Vishnu in place of Nishu Kumar, Felicio Brown, and Rakip. These changes injected much-needed energy into East Bengal’s play. Vishnu, in particular, repeatedly pressured Chennaiyin’s defense with his pace. Having played regularly in the Kolkata League under assistant coach Bino George, Vishnu’s maturity was evident.

The breakthrough came in the 65th minute when Nandhakumar’s shot deflected off Chennaiyin defender Vikas Yumnam and found the net. This solitary goal helped East Bengal leapfrog Bengaluru FC to eighth place in the points table, with 18 points from 16 matches.

However, East Bengal faces a setback as Hira Mondal received a yellow card and will miss the next match against Odisha FC, a concern for the team’s management.