Ratings: Cleiton Silva stars in East Bengal's triumph over Bengaluru FC

The Red & Golds were also victorious the last time they visited the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

East Bengal is finally able to get back to winning ways after defeating Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. It is a very unexpected result from a match that was heavily tipped in favour of Bengaluru FC. East Bengal played brilliant football throughout the game, while Bengaluru FC seemed to lack ideas. The old I-League rivals came to the match on the back of consecutive defeats. Ultimately, it was the Red & Gold Brigade who had the last laugh in front of a very strong crowd comprising fans of both teams.

Against this backdrop, let us take a look at how the players of both sides performed in the game.

Bengaluru FC (By Sathvik Bharadwaj)

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu – 7

 He was the busier of the two keepers. He made a save from Jerry’s early cross, where he identified danger early and came off his line. Gurpreet registered an outstanding reflexive save on the half-hour mark to deny Kyriakou’s long-range effort. However, he had nothing to do about the goal.

Namgyal Bhutia – 5.5

Bhutia found it hard to deal with Jerry but had opportunities to cross and the radar was askew. He took the right-sided corners but floated them close to Kamaljit. The full-back was not in perfect synchronization with Udanta and was replaced by Parag just after the hour mark.

Aleksandar Jovanovic – 5.5

He was tasked with man-marking Cleiton. Jovanovic failed to clear with distance on a couple of occasions. He was replaced by Harmanpreet Singh when Bengaluru FC went a goal down to East Bengal.

Sandesh Jhingan – 6.5

He positioned himself well to deal with lobbed crosses. Sandesh slid in decisively to snatch the ball from Cleiton just as the former BFC forward was pulling the trigger just before half-time. The centre-back gave the ball away cheaply while playing out from the back. He made a total of seven clearances.

Naorem Roshan Singh – 5.5

He was tormented by Cleiton shifting wide and could not push ahead in the first half. Roshan was anonymous throughout his stay in the second half before being replaced by Leon Augustine.

Suresh Singh Wangjam – 6.5

Suresh was alert in midfield and made some good interceptions. He recovered well to deny East Bengal a counter in the 12th minute. The defensive midfielder won fouls in dangerous areas. He was kept busy defensively but dealt with such situations well. Suresh portrayed a good reading of the game barring a misplaced pass when BFC had numbers in attack in the first half.

He was largely at fault for East Bengal’s opener after conceding possession to Naorem Mahesh Singh. He was substituted by Danish Farooq. Suresh had the most touches among BFC players and the highest pass accuracy with 94%.

Bruno Ramires - 6

His early curler flew just wide. Bruno played few well-weighted clipped through balls. He was quick in transitions. On one occasion, he broke the EB spine with a fine run but nothing fruitful yielded from it.

Javi Hernandez – 6.5

He was neat in possession. In the first half, he took a free-kick from distance which narrowly missed the target. Javi put his set-pieces into threatening spaces. His first touch let him down at times. Overall, the attacking midfielder created two chances, one of which was a perfectly weighted through ball for Roy.

Udanta Singh – 6

The winger impressed with some body feints. He showcased his trademark recovery pace to defy breakaways. Udanta took Prabir's position in a bid to secure the right defensively. He created the joint-highest chances (two).

Sunil Chhetri - 5

He was left frustrated at times with the lack of service to him. Chhetri could not influence the game but had an opportunity to score with a header that fell into Kamaljit’s palms. He was a spectator throughout the night. The skipper had a pass accuracy of only 59%.

Roy Krishna - 5

Krishna held the ball up well in the early minutes but glanced a shot over following a rapid BFC counter. On that occasion, he should have tested the keeper at least. The Fijian spurred another chance early in the second half. He got another opportunity when Javi slid him a through ball but failed to hit the target once more. Krishna was not neat in possession too and looked very off-colour.

Substitutions

Prabir Das

He put his body on the line to deal with a shot on target. Prabir received a glorious opportunity and had the time and space to take a shot but failed to.

Parag Shrivas – 6

He slotted in at left-back but did not influence the game much. Parag made three successful interceptions in his short stint, the joint-most.

Danish Farooq – 5.5

He registered a shot after finding space in midfield but it went wayward. He acted as an extra body in the middle.

Leon Augustine - 5

He came on with Danish but did not get into the game at all. 

Harmanpreet Singh – N/A

He came on as a late attacking substitution.

East Bengal FC (By Souvari Paul)

Kamaljit Singh - 8.5

Kamaljit played very well today. He looked confident and composed in East Bengal’s goal. He came out of the goal well and made the right touches. East Bengal’s defence was brilliant today, as a result of which Kamaljit faced only one shot on target. Apart from that, he made two clearances, punched out two balls, and caught one ball. Moreover, his decision-making was brilliant.

Ankit Mukherjee - 7.5

All the defenders of East Bengal played well today. Ankit Mukherjee was no exception and played brilliantly on the right side of East Bengal’s defence. He won almost all aerial battles and registered 46 touches in the game. Moreover, he made two successful tackles, seven clearances, three successful interceptions, and blocked one shot.

Lalchungnunga - 8

Lalchungnunga played his part quite brilliantly. He had 36 touches in total. The centre-back combined well with Gonzalez to provide stability to East Bengal’s defence. He made one successful tackle, four clearances, and four successful interceptions.

Ivan Gonzalez - 8

Gonzalez was rock solid at the base of East Bengal’s defence. He ensured that East Bengal achieve a clean sheet. He did his part by making one successful tackle, seven clearances, and four successful interceptions. Toward the end, he made a goal-saving tackle to deny Roy Krishna.

Jerry Lalrinzuala  - 8.0

Jerry looked very good at the left-back position. He made good forward runs and aided East Bengal’s attacks whenever it was possible. He floated in three crosses and had 45 touches. Jerry was also good defensively as he made three clearances and two successful interceptions. 

VP Suhair - 5.0

Suhair was one of East Bengal’s underperformers in today’s game. He did not look threatening for the time he was on the pitch. He played for 83 minutes and throughout this duration, he was not able to take a single shot. Suhair was able to float in only one cross. 

Charalambos Kyriakou - 8.5

Kyriakou was very effective today in East Bengal’s midfield. He took two shots, one of which was on target. He had 42 touches and made 22 passes. The Cypriot also aided the side’s defence by making one successful tackle, one clearance, two successful interceptions, and blocking one shot. 

Jordan O’Doherty - 7.0

O’Doherty had a decent game today. He was on the pitch for around 55 minutes. He looked quite lively in the middle of the park. The 25-year-old had 28 touches and made 14 passes. His combination with other midfielders was good today. 

Naorem Mahesh Singh - 8

It was a wonderful outing for Naorem Mahesh as he was brilliant today. He looked lively and threatening throughout the game. His body language was very positive. It was from his assist that Cleiton got East Bengal’s winner. He whipped in three crosses, took four corners, and had 46 touches. Moreover, he created three chances. Defensively, he was able to make two successful tackles, two clearances, and one successful interception. 

Semboi Haokip - 6.5

Semboi had an underwhelming outing. He was not able to put in any cross or take any shot. However, the East Bengal forward had 38 touches and his presence was a cause of constant worry for Bengaluru FC.

Cleiton Silva - 8.5

Cleiton had a very good game tonight. With East Bengal’s midfield playing extremely well, Cleiton had a good amount of service today, which he capitalised quite effectively. He took six shots throughout the game, out of which three were on target. He scored the only goal of the gametoo. The 35-year-old threatened to convert many attempts in both halves.

Substitutes 

Alex Lima - 7.0

Lima played for 35 minutes and registered a decent show. He looked quite good after recovering from an injury. He was composed and slotted well in East Bengal's midfield. Lima created one chance, had 20 touches, and made three successful tackles. He needs to work on his fitness now.

Himanshu Jangra - N/A

Himanshu was on the pitch for around seven minutes and couldn't portray much except going past Parag Shrivas on one occasion.