ISL 2025-26: Oscar Bruzon unhappy after East Bengal's thrilling, dramatic comeback against Bengaluru FC

Sojberg’s heroics rescue 10-man East Bengal to hold Bengaluru FC 3-3 at the Saltlake Stadium.

Ten-man East Bengal FC came from behind twice to rescue a point against Bengaluru FC. East Bengal FC fought valiantly to hold Bengaluru FC to a 3-3 draw in an exciting  Indian Super League (ISL) 2025-26 clash at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday. The match, definitely one of the most exciting of the season, saw six goals and constant shifts in momentum.

Despite being reduced to ten men in the first half, the Red and Gold Brigade showed remarkable resilience, with Anwar Ali, Saul Crespo and Anton Søjberg finding the net to cancel out strikes from Ashique Kuruniyan, Suresh Singh Wangjam and Ryan Williams.

The result sees both sides move to 15 points, with East Bengal placed third on goal difference from eight matches, while Bengaluru FC sit fourth, having played a game more. Saul Crespo was adjudged the Player of the Match for his influential performance in midfield.

After the match against Bengaluru FC, East Bengal FC head coach Oscar Bruzon have addressed the media. Here is a detailed report of the post-match press conference between East Bengal FC and Bengaluru FC.

Oscar Bruzon on Miguel’s Red Card Incident

Miguel was sent off just after East Bengal equalised from an acrobatic bicycle kick of Anwar Ali in the first half, during 24 minutes of the game. Oscar Bruzon and teammates were pleading for Miguel’s case. The referee has shown a yellow card to a member of East Bengal’s coaching staff. It looked like it was the moment when Miguel kicked the ball away in frustration, when it was already out of play, right in front of Ashique. And Miguel, while walking off, kicked the ball at the Bengaluru dugout. Gurpreet and others came into the scene to calm things down. After the thrilling draw, East Bengal FC head coach Oscar Bruzon was quite frustrated with Miguel’s red card incident and shared his views on some of the decisions given by the referee during the match.

Oscar stated, “If I say something today, I will get suspended; if I say something regarding the referee after the match, I will be suspended for 2-3 matches. So I will tell you to watch the pre-match press conference, where I mentioned these decisions taken by the referee. But yes, one thing, if the red card of Sanchez has been revoked just one day before the match, the red card of Miguel should be revoked immediately.”

“The incident stands like this: when Miguel was standing near the sideline, the assistant coach of Bengaluru FC called him ‘Viado’, which in Portuguese refers to effeminate men. It was completely a provocation from the bench of Bengaluru FC. Then, what Sanchez did in the last game, Miguel also pushed one of the players of Bengaluru. So if that red card was revoked, this should also be revoked immediately. I have told you during the pre-match press conference that in this critical stage of the league, some of the teams are getting some favour. But if Miguel’s red card is not revoked, then I have to say that the system is biased. But I don’t want to comment on all these decisions and get suspended. Let’s talk about the game, he also added.

On East Bengal’s Dramatic comeback and Fightback

Sojberg’s late equaliser helped 10-man East Bengal to rescue a late and thrilling draw against Bengaluru FC at the Salt Lake Stadium. Danish forward Anton Sojberg became the latest hero for East Bengal as he scored late to rescue a 3-3 draw with Bengaluru FC. Oscar Bruzon’s substitutions worked in the end as a momentary lapse in focus cost Pep Munoz all three points.

The Spanish Gaffer stated: “It was brilliant. This is the spirit of East Bengal. I am happy with this one point. After going down with 10 men, my team fought back really well. But Bengaluru were constantly creating pressure; they had the better ball possession as well. So we made Bipin, Nandha, Saul, and Edmund do the counterattack. Yes, we had our chances; we could have won the match with 10 men, but it is what it is. We have left 2 points on the ground today in a home match, so I am not fully satisfied with the performance, but this one point kept us alive in the title race, he added.

On East Bengal’s strategy and game plan against the Blues

Bruzon stated, “I believe in this three-defensive-line formation. And why not a player from the defence line go and produce an assist, or a player from the midfield can defend a ball? This is the strength of our team, and the players like Jeakson, Anwar and others. As I have said, I don’t believe in the primitive style of football. Yes, the plan was to stop Ashique and Ryan Williams from both the wings, but then Ashique also scored the first goal from an open ball, and Ryan Williams scored in the second half when we were down to 10-men. They were constantly attacking and creating a lot of gaps through our midfield to the defence line. This happened in the Chennaiyin game too, so we need to focus on this. They were strong in numerical supremacy too, but somehow we were able to make a late comeback in the game and grab one point from this home game, he also added.

Views on Anwar’s Fitness and Gill’s Performance

Oscar Bruzon gave an update on Anwar Ali’s fitness and also said that he was not happy with Prabhsukhan Singh Gill’s performance today, as he conceded some of the goals today due to an absolute lapse in concentration.

The Spaniard stated, “Yes, Anwar is fit, and he can play the next match. He has been suffering from a groin injury for the last few weeks after the FIFA International break. He was eager to play and give his 100% on the field for the team. But he is in the state of playing just for 65-70 minutes of the match, so we made the substitution in both our last matches. But he is very committed and training hard during the practice sessions to recover and attain complete match fitness. But he can play the next match against Odisha FC.”

“Yes, I am not happy with the performance of Gill. I had spoken to him after the match. He conceded some of the goals due to an absolute lapse in his concentration. He is one of the best goalkeepers in this competition. But for a few games, he is not fully confident, and the result is what you are seeing. But everyone can make mistakes, Gill needs to understand this and come back strong, he also added.

Oscar’s message for the Red and Gold fans

Oscar Bruzon applauded the Red and Gold fans after the match and said that this comeback was possible for them. Their presence helped the players to believe and make a late comeback in the game and rescue 1 point after being down to 10-men.

Oscar said, “They were fascinating throughout the game. Supporting us till the last minute of the game. Shouting, chanting slogans, they were superb. I told my players during the break, let’s try to win this game for our fans, but we managed a late, dramatic draw instead. But they are always our 12th man; this comeback was only possible for them. Thank you to all the Amago fans for coming in large numbers and supporting us, he finished off.”

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.