Mohun Bagan 1-1 East Bengal: 5 Talking Points

The giants of Indian football faced each other in round 3 of the Hero I-League with both looking to gain an upper hand in the race for the title. East Bengal began the game on the front foot while Sanjoy Sen’s men slowly and gradually made their way into the match. The flow was lacking in the game initially but things improved as time went by. The first half ended without any team hitting the back of the net.Both teams came into the second half looking to score and it was East Bengal who dealt the initial blow. Ranti scored from a long ball but his side failed to hold on to the advantage. Cornell Glen equalized for Mohun Bagan and the game ended 1-1.Here’s looking at the five talking points from the game:

#1 East Bengal\'s Strategy

East Bengal played long balls on many occasions

Earlier on in the season, Biswajit Bhattacharya’s men had played some slick passing football en route to their Calcutta League triumph. But today, that somehow wasn’t there.

East Bengal played the long ball on far too many occasions. Majority of these long balls came from the left wing where Bikash Jairu played a crucial role. However, his crosses weren’t met by the likes of Ranti Martins and Do Dong-Hyun.

In the first half, the Calcutta League champions enjoyed a session where they passed the ball around quite nicely but they just could not continue it. They came out in the second half and passed the ball well but the absence of Harmanjyot Khabra in midfield was clearly felt. All of this eventually led to Bhattacharya employing the long ball strategy.

However after trying for long, East Bengal scored from a long ball. Luciano Sabrosa misjudged the flight of the ball and Ranti Martins was there to slot home the goal.