Bengaluru FC have defeated East Bengal 1-0 in their opening match of the ISL 24-25 season. The visitors finished the game with 10 men, after Lalchungunga was sent off for a second yellow card late in the game.
The only goal of the game was scored midway through the first half by Vinith Venkatesh, giving the hosts something to protect in the second half. East Bengal, on the other hand, will leave Bengaluru feeling disappointed as they could have equalised through various opportunities.
Bengaluru FC defeat East Bengal in opening ISL clash
.@bengalurufc bag 3️⃣ points in their #ISL 2024-25 opener! 💪#BFCEBFC #LetsFootball #ISLonJioCinema #ISLonSports18 #BengaluruFC #EastBengalFC | @Sports18 @eastbengal_fc pic.twitter.com/ckeoHRNUXJ
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) September 14, 2024
Carles Cuadrat opted to start Dimitrios Diamantakos, and benched Madih Talal for the first half. He also played Hijazi Maher and Hector Yuste in central defender, with Lalchungunga playing as a left-back.
The experiment didn’t end well, given how things turned out at the end of the night. And even though Talal looked threatening as always, he seemed marginally off pace as well, after his introduction shortly into the second half.
EB captain Cleiton Silva had the best chance of the game, but blasted his effort marginally over the crossbar. The visitors also looked exposed in defence time and time again, with the game transitioning into an end-to-end affair on multiple occasions, completely bypassing the midfield.
The Blues had to defend a lot with over 100 minutes played, but their resilience ended up earning them three huge points to start the season positively.
When is East Bengal’s next match?
Vs Kerala Blasters on 22nd September
