ISL Match Result: East Bengal Slump To Another Defeat As Mumbai City FC Dominate in Kolkata

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ISL match result: East Bengal continue to struggle in the second half of the Indian Super League 2023-24 season as the Kolkata giants lost 1-0 to Mumbai City FC in an unconvincing show at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Tuesday (February 13).

Iker Guarrotxena (23') scored the sole goal of the match while Mumbai City FC went on an offensive charge from the word go. East Bengal failed to get a single shot on target in response as Felicio Brown failed to find the net after his first start.

The Islanders would be relieved by the effort put up by former FC Goa star Iker Guarrotxena, who joined Petr Kratky's squad last month, following the departure of important players during the January transfer window.

The attacker immediately made an impression by snagging a starting position and taunting the East Bengal FC defense with his deft moves and keen eye for goal. Guarrotxena was on target in the fourth minute itself, which was set up by Vikram Pratap Singh through a low cross. Even though the striker was only six yards from at the time, he was unable to open the score.

Soon after, Lallianzuala Chhangte took off, dazzled across the front line, and was instrumental in setting up opportunities for Guarrotxena and Tiri. The current ISL Golden Ball winner seized the opportunity to square up a first-half delivery for Tiri, which the former Jamshedpur FC defender was unable to put in the goal.

Even if Guarrotxena's attempt to put the visitors ahead in the eighteenth minute was unsuccessful, it was only a matter of time until he made the breakthrough given his energetic presence in the first place.

When Alberto Noguera chipped in a wonderful gift from a few yards inside the halfway mark, which Guarrotxena did a good job of bringing down and controlling first up, everything fell into place in the twenty-fourth minute. Even though he momentarily lost possession, he had enough awareness to retrieve the ball and drive it in from the centre of the box.

Throughout the game, the forward caused problems for East Bengal by drawing fouls in hazardous situations and intercepting accurate passes made at close range. Despite his inability to double his goal total, he made sure that the host team was confined to their own half for the entirety of the contest, as evidenced by the Islanders' dominant 67.3% possession rate.