East Bengal revive ISL 2023-24 campaign with five-star performance against NorthEast United

A plethora of goals, a freshly spotted zeal, and a spark of hope defined East Bengal FC's outing as they trounced NorthEast United FC 5-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium on Monday.

While two quickfire goals from Borja Herrera and Cleiton Silva created the launchpad, a brace off the bench from Nandhakumar Sekar led the Red and Gold Brigade to their biggest victory margin in the ISL.

With both sides yearning for the three points to leapfrog the midtable traffic, the initial phase emerged as an end-to-end affair. There were a few hopefully runs into spaces in the final third from both sides. Jithin MS was the first to have a crack at the opposition goal after being set up by Nestor Albiach. But the NorthEast United midfielder's effort flew wide of the target.

The Highlanders were just about controlling the tempo when a moment of brilliance from Borja Herrera struck the Salt Lake Stadium like lightning. Vishnu PV's sleek pass outside the opposition box landed at the feet of the Spaniard, and a wave of his magic left boot hurled the ball into the back of the net. Quite like their previous fixture and a few others, the Red and Gold Brigade had again taken the lead.

But there was an air of confidence around East Bengal this time around. Skillful passing, incessant pressing, and sharp-witted switching allowed the hosts to double their lead soon after.

A back-heel from Saul Crespo on the left flank sent Mandar Rao Desai through, and Cleiton Silva was perfectly positioned to nod home the second goal. By the 24th minute, NorthEast had a mammoth two-goal lead to overcome in front of a scarce but roaring home support.

Meanwhile, the Torchbearers had a bit of a hurdle to overcome when their veteran full-back Harmanjot Singh Khabra had to be stretchered off. Mohammed Rakip took his place and had to immediately deal with the resurgence of the visitors.

Gani Nigam carved open East Bengal's defense in the 35th minute with a tenacious solo run, leaving a couple of oppositions in the dust, but ultimately his timid effort was cleared off the line by a cautious Souvik Chakrabarti.

NorthEast pushed forward until the referee's whistle brought the first half to an end and Carles Cuadrat's men marched off into the dressing room with a healthy lead.

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East Bengal's super-sub Nandhakumar Sekar joins the scoring party in the second half against NorthEast United FC

After the break, both teams opted for early substitutions albeit with different motives. Nandhakumar Sekar was brought on by Cuadrat to replace Vishnu PV, who had left his heart out in the middle of the pitch. Meanwhile, Phalguni Singh made his way into the NorthEast United lineup in place of Pragyan Gogoi.

While the Highlanders were in complete control at the end of the first half, it was East Bengal who looked sharper in the second. Nandhakumar's introduction added another layer of potency to the hosts' frontline as he was heavily involved in all their attacking charges.

He was rewarded for his involvement soon in the 61st minute when the former Odisha FC winger was picked out by Naorem Mahesh Singh, who skipped past an opposition defender before delivering the inch-perfect cross.

The Highlanders had only just recovered from conceding a third when Cleiton Silva further piled on their misery minutes later with his second goal of the night. Juan Pedro Benali's shoulders had dropped and NorthEast were left overwhelmed. Mahesh and Nandha combined once again in the 81st minute as the latter made the scoreline read.

In the dying minutes of additional time, NorthEast had a chance to slam home a consolation goal when Phalguni was brought down inside the opposition box. But just like the rest of the night, it was a humbling showing for the visitors as Nestor managed to slam the spot-kick into the crossbar, keeping East Bengal's clean sheet intact.

The statement victory pushed the Red and Gold Brigade to the seventh spot, now in touching distance of the knockout spots. Meanwhile, the Highlanders and their head coach will be eager to make this night a distant memory as soon as possible.