East Bengal and Mohun Bagan Super Giant will face off in the ISL 2023-24 season’s second Kolkata derby at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday.
The Red and Gold beat their nemesis en route to winning the Kalinga Super Cup - its first national title in 12 years but settled for a 2-2 draw in its previous meeting.
While Mohun Bagan has had the last laugh in most of the Kolkata derbies over the past few years, this current East Bengal side looks rejuvenated under the tutelage of Carles Cuadrat.
Ahead of the Kolkata derby, here is what happened in the last five matches between Mohun Bagan SG and East Bengal.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant 2-2 East Bengal, ISL 2024
Mohun Bagan Super Giant fought back twice from being a goal down to hold arch-rival East Bengal 2-2 in an intensely contested action of the first Kolkata derby of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24.
This was the first drawn result – of the Kolkata derby – in the league as Mohun Bagan had won all the previous six since the two started playing in the ISL.
Petratos Dimitrios (9) of Mohun Bagan Super Giant celebrates after scoring a goal during an Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 football match, at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium) in Kolkata | Photo Credit: PTI
Armando Sadiku brought the Mariners level in the 17th minute after Ajay Chhetri had given East Bengal the lead. East Bengal regained the lead in the 55th minute when Cleiton Silva found the target from the spot.
Desperate to keep its unbeaten derby record in ISL intact, Mohun Bagan fought back again and restored parity in the 87th minute off Dimitri Petratos.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant 1-3 East Bengal; January 2023 - Kalinga Super Cup
East Bengal won its second Kolkata derby of the season after beating Mohun Bagan Super Giant 3-1 in a Kalinga Super Cup Group A fixture. The win ensured the Red and Gold’s passage to the Super Cup semifinal, where it beat Jamshedpur FC and eventually Odisha FC in the summit clash to win the title.
Mohun Bagan took a 1-0 lead from a Dimitrios Petratos corner as Hector Yuste flicked the ball inside the net at the near post. But the lead was short-lived as Cleiton Silva equalised for Carles Cuadrat’s men with a lovely finish from the edge of the Mariners penalty area.
East Bengal FC captain Cleiton celebrates after scoring a goal against Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the Kalinga Super Cup 2024 matches at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. | Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT/The Hindu
The Mariners had a chance to take the lead late in the first-half after a handball decision went against Hijazi Maher inside the box. Petratos stood over the ball for the spot-kick. While his first penalty was cancelled due to encroachment, the Australian failed to convert from his second attempt as the ball hit the crossbar.
East Bengal took the lead in the second half courtesy of a goal by Nandhakumar Sekar. Ravi Rana lost the ball to Borja Herrera, with the latter going for goal with a curler. The ball hit the post and came back into play, with Nandhakumar tapping in the rebound from close distance.
With the balance heavily tipping in the Red and Gold’s favour, Cleiton Silva buried the match after grabbing his brace in the 80th minute. The Mohin Bagan backline could not deal with a cross that came inside the box, with Hijazi heading the ball towards goal. While Arsh Anwar did initially hold on to the ball, he eventually spilled it, and Cleiton was there to punish the error by blasting the ball inside the net from a close distance.
East Bengal 0 - 1 Mohun Bagan Super Giant; September 2023 - Durand Cup Final
Dimitri Petratos’ solo strike proved the difference as 10-man Mohun Bagan Super Giant (MBSG) prevailed over arch-rivals East Bengal FC in the final of the 132nd Durand Cup at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
Mohun Bagan went down to ten following the dismissal of Anirudh Thapa in the 62nd minute but pushed through the game before sealing the deal in the 71st minute.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant players celebrate after winning the Durand Cup Final against East Bengal at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. | Photo Credit: PTI
East Bengal had a great chance to take the lead in the 70th minute but MBSG goalkeeper Vishal Kaith, made a fine save to deny the effort of Brazilian Cleiton Silva.
Petratos dribbled past two defenders and scored past Prabhsukhan Gill immediately after to seal the result and secure the club’s 17th title.
East Bengal 1 - 0 Mohun Bagan SG; August 2023 - Durand Cup
Nandhakumar Sekar produced a spectacular finish to help Emami East Bengal end its losing streak against its arch-rival Mohun Bagan Super Giant, at the Salt Lake Stadium.
The Chennai-born winger’s contribution saw East Bengal down the Indian Super League (ISL) champion MBSG by a solitary goal in the group-A match of the Durand Cup.
Nandhakumar Sekar celebrates after scoring the winner in the match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in the 2023 Durand Cup. | Photo Credit: Durand Cup Media
Despite fielding a newly strung combination with 15 new signings, EBFC’s execution kept the star-studded MBSG on a tight leash. The Mariners drew big arrears in making effective transitions while the boys in Red-and-gold showed remarkable efficiency.
East Bengal made many more raids in the Bagan box and succeeded in opening effectively in the 60th-minute counter-attack that saw Nandhakumar producing the all-important goal.
East Bengal 0 - 2 Mohun Bagan SG; February 2023 - ISL
Mohun Bagan SG (earlier ATK Mohun Bagan) beat East Bengal 2-0 on the back of goals by Slavko Damjanovic and Dimitri Petratos in the Indian Super League on 25 February 2023.
Dimitri Petratos of ATK Mohun Bagan takes a shot at the goal during the Indian Super League game between East Bengal FC and ATK Mohun Bagan at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata. | Photo Credit: Focus Sports
The opening half was insipid but the contest came alive after the change of ends when the teams started making forays with more purpose. After a spell of intense attacks, Mohun Bagan SG found the breakthrough in the 68th minute when Manvir Singh flicked a Petratos corner to the tall Damjanovic who found the target off the second attempt.
The win was sealed by Petratos in the 90th minute who swooped in on the rebound after substitute Kiyan Nassiri’s attempt was blocked by East Bengal goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh.
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