East Bengal vs Bengaluru FC highlights, EBFC 2-1 BFC, ISL 2023-24: Cleiton, Saul on scoresheet as Red and Gold keep playoff hopes alive

East Bengal wins! Carles Cuadrat’s men have held to edge a narrow 2-1 win against Bengaluru FC to keep its playoff hopes alive. 

This defeat makes it tough for Bengaluru and while it is not out mathematically, playoff chances are distant for the Blues. 

EBFC bookings: Souvik and Saul see yellow cards in quick succession. Souvik will miss the next match.

How was Aman not scored there? Felicio finds him with a great ball and he gets past Gurpreet with an empty net in front of him. But he takes a touch too many and his final shot is blocked by Gurpreet. 

BFC booking: Molla sees a yellow card for catching Pantic with a high boot. 

Chhetri gets the ball and tries to work Gill with a header but the East Bengal keeper collects easily. 

EBFC booking: East Bengal head coach Carles Cuadrat is shown a yellow card now. This means both head coaches are on a yellow. 

Eight minutes added at the end of the second-half!

EBFC booking: Gill is shown a yellow card for time wasting, which means he will miss its last league match against Punjab FC. That can turn out to be big. 

Sunil Chhetri gets the bakl inside the box and shoots on the turn but the ball finally ricochets off him and goes out for a goalkick. 

EBFC subs: IN - Chungnunga, Felicio OUT - Mahesh, Cleiton

Molla times his run to perfection and makes a clear run at goal. East Bengal could almost see the equaliser coming as Molla takes his shot from close distance but somehow, Gill gets a hand to it and makes a massive save to preserve the lead for his team. Chhetri was there for support but Molla opted to shoot himself. 

Aman has acres of green ahead of him as he makes a darting run down the right flank. He finds Sayan with the cross but the latter cannot control the ball. However, he does not lose possession and finds Mahesh with pass. Mahesh keeps his calm and goes for the cutback but concedes possession. 

Shivaldo cuts in from the left flank and goes hard and low with his shot. Aimed at the near-post, the effort is not target and goes out of play. Gill had his near-post covered. 

The match halts for its last drinks break!

Nishu Kumar gets the ball on the left flank after getting at the end of a long ball. Nishu spots Cleiton inside the box and finds him with an accurate cross. Cleiton makes contact with the ball and buries it inside the net with a solid header. 

Sayan tries to get past his marker and ping a cross inside the box. But his cross is cut out and East Bengal gets a corner. 

EBFC booking: Aman is shown a yellow card for a late challenge on Veendorp. 

EBFC sub: IN- Aman CK OUT- Khabra 

BFC subs: IN - Damjanovic, Molla OUT - Drost, Roshan 

Chhetri’s shot from the edge of the East Bengal area is blocked by Khabra and the Bengaluru captain shouts for another penalty. He was convinced that the ball had touched Khabra’s hand but this time, he gets nothing. 

Chhetri picks the bottom-left corner and goes hard and low with his spot-kick. Gill guessed the right way but still could not get to the ball as it rattles the net. 

BFC penalty - Chhetri’s cross from the left hits Khabra on his hand and there is a big penalty shout from the Blues. They get what they want as the referee points to the spot. 

EBFC booking: Nishu Kumar sees a yellow card for getting into a tussle with Drost.

EBFC sub: IN- Pantic OUT- Vazquez

Mahesh’s finds Cleiton with a beautiful weighted pass from the left flank but the Brazilian, under pressure, cannot get a shot away from inside the box. 

BFC booking: BFC manager Gerard Zaragoza is shown a yellow for dissent. He was still complaining about the decision to rule out Chhetri’s goal due to offside. 

Roshan spots Sunil Chhetri and finds him with a lofted through-ball. Chhetri peels away from Hijazi and ends up putting the ball inside the net but he was already flagged offside. 

Two attacking changes by Zaragoza right at the start of the second=half. The intent is clear. 

EBFC sub: IN- Sayan OUT- Vishnu

BFC subs: IN- Chhetri, Shivaldo OUT- Sivasakthi, Fanai

East Bengal with a 1-0 lead against Bengaluru FC as the second-half kicks-off at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium) in Kolkata.

Saul Crespo’s penalty keeps East Bengal in a 1-0 lead against Bengaluru FC at the break 

Roshan’s cross was always going out but Gill gives Bengaluru a late chance as he tries to collect the cross and ends up spilling it out of play. The Blues have a corner. 

Javi goes low with the resulting corner but nothing comes from it. 

Fanai takes a shot from distance but it is an easy collect for Gill. 

Fanai sends Javi with a beautiful pass, as the Spaniard flashes a low cross across the face of the goal. But the ball misses everyone and East Bengal regains possession. Drost was there at the near-post and any touch there would have resulted in a goal. 

Four minutes added at the end of the first-half!

East Bengal launches a counter-attack after soaking pressure from a BFC attack. Saul finds Vishnu with a good pass. Vishnu’s pass just finds Cleiton, as the latter gets the ball past Gurpreet who had come off his line. Cleiton goes for the cutback and finds Vishnu again, who cannot find an outlet and ends up losing the ball. 

Gill gets some medical attention. It seems like something went inside his eye but the treatment is quick from the medical staff and he is okay to continue. 

Veendorp’s freekick finds Sankar, who goes for a header at the near-post. Gill makes the dive to cover his post but he knew the ball was going out all along. 

A spell of pressure from Bengaluru FC. First Suresh, tries to set up Sivasakthi but East Bengal gets the ball away. Javi gets the ball and goes for a shot from the edge of the box, only to see it blocked. Fanai gets the ball and tries to finesse the ball inside the net from distance, but ends up sending the ball straight to Gill. 

East Bengal works out a short freekick and Vishnu darts down the right flank after getting the ball. He moves inward, trying to get a cross in but his pass is blocked and the ball goes out for a corner. 

Match resumes after the first water break of the contest!

Mahesh’s low cross from the left finds Cleiton Silva, who tries to go for a first-time shot, but the Brazilian cannot make a proper connection with the ball. Bengaluru gets the ball away. 

Vazquez finds Souvik with a looping cross from an East Bengal freekick. Souvik tries to guide the ball towards goal with his head. His header has power but not the direction as the ball goes out for a goalkick. 

Drost shows good control to bring down Venndorp’s long ball. He makes his way inside the box and tries to square the ball to Sivasakthi for the tap-in. But his pass is cut out and the Red and Gold get the ball to safety. 

It is a cheap giveaway from Hijazi and the ball goes straight to Drost, who looks to capitalise on the error. He looks for the shot but Souvik does well to close him down. Drost eventually gets his shot away but it does not trouble Gill, as he watches the ball roll out of play. 

Saul Crespo maintains eye contact with Gurpeet and slots the ball in the bottom-right corner to give a lead to East Bengal. 

BFC booking: Fanai is shown a yellow card for that foul on Mahesh, that led to the penalty. 

Penalty for East Bengal - Fanai fouls Mahesh from behind and the referee points to the spot immediately. 

BFC booking: Mahesh proves too quick for Poojary and the latter ends up catching Mahesh with a late foul. It is a dodgy one and Poojary is shown a yellow card. 

Big save by Gill - Drost’s lob from the edge of the box finds Fanai on the right side of the box. Fanai squares the ball to Sivasakthi, who did well to remain onside. With the goal gaping, Sivasakthi tries to poke the ball inside the net but Gill makes the block with his face and sends the ball out for a corner. An unconventional but big save , given the circumstances. 

Fanai lobs the ball to Sivasakthi as the latter looks to make a bursting run at goal. But Hijazi did well to maintain the line and the assistant referee raises his flag for offside. 

Roshan’s change of direction proves to be too quick for Rakip, who ends up fouling the BFC player. The Blues have a freekick in a good position. 

Veendorp goes for the cross but it is a poor one and Cleiton gets the ball away with a clearing header. A cross comes inside the East Bengal box again, as Sivasakthi looks to get to it but he is flagged offside. 

It has been a midfield battle till now, with neither team posing any substantial threat on the opoonent’s goal. 

Bengaluru FC going for an unconventional kick-off routine. Javi Hernandez moves away from goal and then tries to find the forward man with a long ball. It does not work out. Shades of what Real Madrid do with Toni Kroos. 

The ISL 2023-24 match between East Bengal and Bengaluru FC is underway at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium) in Kolkata. 

Total Matches Played – 7

East Bengal wins – 3

Draws – 1

Bengaluru FC wins – 3

East Bengal: Prabhsukhan Gill (GK), Harmanjot Khabra, Aleksandar Pantic, Hijazi Maher, Nishu Kumar, Souvik Chakrabarti, Saul Crespo, PV Vishnu, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Aman CK, Cleiton Silva.

Bengaluru FC: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Nikhil Poojary, Aleksander Jovanovic, Shankar Sampingiraj, Naorem Roshan Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Keziah Veendorp, Sivasakthi Narayanan, Javi Hernandez, Ryan Williams, Sunil Chhetri.

East Bengal will look to secure a second win on the trot when it hosts a struggling Bengaluru FC in an ISL-10 fixture, at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Sunday.

The clash assumes importance on the count that both teams will wish to collect all three points to brighten their playoffs prospects. Bengaluru FC is currently ranked seventh in the league standings with 22 points from 20 outings, while East Bengal is at a rung below with 21 points from 20 matches.

Read full preview ​HERE​

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ISL 2023-24: Playoffs berth at stake as East Bengal hosts Bengaluru FC

With five teams already in the playoffs, both Bengaluru and East Bengal are fighting for the sixth spot, where Chennaiyin FC is currently positioned with 24 points.

When and where is the East Bengal FC vs Bengaluru FC ISL 2023-24 match kicking-off?

The East Bengal vs Bengaluru FC ISL 2023-24 match will kick-off at 7:30 PM IST on Sunday, April 7 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium) in Kolkata. 

How can you watch the East Bengal vs Bengaluru FC ISL 2023-24 match?

The East Bengal vs Bengaluru FC ISL 2023-24 match will be live telecasted on the Sports18 1 Channel (TV). The game can also be live streamed on the JioCinema app and website (online). 

The game will be livestreamed on OneFootball for those watching from outside India.