East Bengal Players Ratings in Kolkata Derby: Saul Crespo Shines, Others Faulter

Add as a preferred source on Google

East Bengal lost 1-3 against Mohun Bagan in the second Kolkata derby of ISL 2023-24. Their performance in the first half was abysmal, but they did come back stronger in the second half. However, they still couldn't close the gap the Mariners already made.

For the most of the second half, East Bengal were the dominating side. Captain Cleiton Silva and midfielder Saul Crespo were the heroes of the evening for the Torch Bearers. It was the first game for the Spanish midfielder after coming back from his injury.

A partnership between the captain and Crespo formed in the second half that caused a headache for the Mariners' defense. It was that partnership that produced their only goal in the game. Nandhakumar Sekar and Naorem Mahesh Singh were not as impressive in the attack.

In the midfield, Souvik Chakraborty managed to do a decent job trying to diffuse Mariners attacks, but it wasn't his best day in the office. Including the opposition's players, Ajay Chhetri beside Souvik was the most ineffective player on the ground.

In the back, Nishu Kumar, Maher Hijazi, and Aleksander Pantic tried their best. However, in the first half, the East Bengal defense and goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill cost them the game. As the Mariners were constantly testing their defense with one attack after another, Torch Bearers held well in the beginning.

However, it lasted only for a while as Dimitri Petratos managed to come close to scoring several times. The first goal East Bengal conceded was because of a mistake Gill made by not punching Petratos' shot right near Jason Cummings' feet.

The second goal came when another Petratos shot hit the bar. Petratos hit the rebound ball towards Liston Colaco who was standing too close to the goalpost with no East Bengal defenders marking him. Unsurprisingly, Chungnunga Lal was the second-worst player on the ground.

East Bengal Players Ratings (Out of 5)

Prabhsukhan Gill - 2.8

Chungnunga Lal - 2.5, Aleksandar Pantic - 3.3, Maher Hijazi - 2.8, Nishu Kumar - 3.5,

Souvik Chakraborty - 3.0, Ajay Chhetri - 2.3,

Naorem Mahesh Singh - 2.9, Saul Crespo - 3.9, Cleiton Silva - 3.8,

Nandhakumar Sekar - 3.3