East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat speaks on defense, Mohun Bagan and the bridging gap ahead of Kolkata Derby

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East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat believes the gap between them and Mohun Bagan has shortened in the last couple of years ahead of a crucial match in the Kalinga Super Cup on Friday (January 19).

East Bengal will take on Mohun Bagan in the Super Cup Group A match on Friday in Bhubaneswar. The match is a virtual knockout for either team as the winner will advance to the semifinals, while the loser has to bid adieu to the tournament.

Carles Cuadrat spoke in the pre-match press conference on Thursday (January 18), where he opened up on various aspects of the crucial match. The Spaniard stressed the importance of winning the match and qualifying for the semifinals.

Mohun Bagan do have a few players on National Duty like Manvir Singh, Deepak Tangri and others, who could be a started had they not been in the India squad. When asked about if Mohun Bagan's reduced strength is an advantage for them, Cuadrat stated his team is also having the same issue.

"We have players in the national team as well, and they are very important players. We are training good and we know there are a lot of things happening in Indian football. We will have to be very focused in the game and get into the semifinals," Cuadrat said in the pre-match press conference.

The East Bengal coach also opened up on the lack of points in the ISL but confirmed his happiness with the attitude of his players.

"I think we deserve more points in the ISL than we have. We have been very unlucky in the games. Nothing has changed. The players' attitude is the same and (I am) very happy the way we are performing in the tournament," he added.

He also says the change in the Mohun Bagan coach is a completely different scenario for their arch-rivals. The East Bengal coach also spoke about the closely contested two derbies so far.

Both these Kolkata giants have locked horns twice this season, which ended 1-0. East Bengal won the Durand Cup group stage match, while the Mariners roared back to win the Durand Cup final by the same scoreline.

East Bengal's achilles heel in this Kalinga Super Cup has been conceding cheap goals with penalties. They conceded two penalties in the first two matches and Cuadrat is wary of that piece of headache.

"The players that have come in are doing well. Sometimes they need game time to improve. We have conceded 3 goals until now and two have been penalties. We are having very bad luck and we have to keep working. Apart from that, we are doing well, we don't concede a lot of chances or shots," Cuadrat concluded.