Oscar Bruzon's first game in charge of East Bengal ended in disappointment Mohun Bagan continued their dominance in the Kolkata Derby in ISL. Jamie Maclren scored for consecutive matches and Dimitri Petratos put the sealer from the spot for the 2-0 victory. They would have added more to their tally if Prabhsukhan Gill was not up to the task and the forwards were clinical with their chances in the controlled victory. The win resulted in the Mariners climbing to second on the table, three points off leaders Bengaluru FC, while East Bengal remained bottom with no points in the bag.
The Shield holders started their ninth Kolkata derby in ISL in usual dominating fashion and created loads of chances. Gill denied Maclaren from point blank range from Greg Stewart's pass, orchestrated the game for Bagan, before Manvir Singh's header got disallowed for offside albeit with some controversy to it. Captain Subhasish Bose's header from a corner was expertly saved by the former Kerala Blasters keeper but he could do nothing when Maclren gave the Green and Maroon the deserved lead before half-time through Singh delightful pass. East Bengal's defence failed to track his run.
Unlike the previous games when Jose Molina's team collapsed in the second half, the Mariners kept their focus and maintained their dominance. The Red and Gold failed to create any clear cut chances in the game as their struggle in front of goal continued. Their impact on the match was almost negligible. Despite making some inroads into the opposition's box after the introduction of Dimitrios Diamantakos, the momentum did not shift.
As a substitute for Maclren, Petratos became the nemesis for the Torch-Bearers again as he sealed the win from the spot after Gill tripped him late in the match. With back-to-back wins in the bag, Bagan will travel to Hyderabad FC to end the month while their rivals will also make an away trip to face Odisha FC.
Winning spree
Mohun Bagan collected their eight win in their ninth Kolkata derby without losing the fixture in the league history.
Scoring masters
The Mariners have scored 22 goals in the ISL Kolkata derby fixtures, averaging 2.4 goals per match. In comparison, East Bengal has scored only five.
Rock solid
The Green and Maroons have kept five clean sheets in this fixture in the league while their rivals have failed to keep even one.
Nightmare for East Bengal
Petratos has made six goal contributions against East Bengal in ISL, most by any other player against the side. The Australian has also scored in five of the eight times he has faced them.
Worst start
East Bengal has lost the first five games of an ISL season for the first time. In that period, they have managed to score just three goals and conceded 10.
Leaky
The Torch Bearers have also failed to keep a clean sheet in the last 14 matches in all competitions. Their worst run without clean sheets.
Scoring spree
Mohun Bagan have scored 10 goals in the first five matches of the ISL season. They managed the same tally in the first four matches last season.
Lender
Greg Stewart now jointly leads the chart this season in terms of assists with three in his name. This was his 24th assist in the competition, no other player has managed more in the same period.
