Three areas where East Bengal must improve to beat Mohun Bagan in Kolkata Derby

East Bengal will be desperate to grab three points against their arch-rivals Mohun Bagan.

East Bengal head into their second Kolkata derby of the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) in relatively shaky form after their recent loss to Mumbai City FC.

The Torchbearers’ performance against the Islanders showed enough signs of why they might be embarrassed in the derby but also showcased some promising signs that East Bengal can even win the big match.

The Red & Gold Brigade are not helped by injuries to key players, but they still possess the will and talents to defeat Mohun Bagan. To do so, however, there are certain elements of their game and overall approach that East Bengal must improve.

They need to fix certain aspects of their playing style that are holding them back time and time, as well as improving their execution in a few elements. Here we look at East Bengal’s three areas of improvement to win the Kolkata derby.

3. Stop relying on ‘reactive’ nature

One thing that Oscar Bruzon lamented after East Bengal’s loss to Mumbai City is that his side tends to be too ‘reactive’ to get results.

That means that the players need to concede goals or face a few setbacks in a match before able to properly ‘come alive’ and play their best football. That approach will not work at all against a ruthless side like Mohun Bagan. The Mariners can easily score a few goals against them in the first half if given too much freedom and Mohun Bagan aren’t the side to surrender a prominent lead either.

East Bengal players have to be at their sharpest from the first minute and try to control aspects of the game from the get-go.

They cannot rely on gaining that ‘spark’ after going behind, as Mohun Bagan knows all too well how to hold a lead and can frustrate them after going ahead. East Bengal players need to take the game to their rivals once the whistle blows, try to create creative attacking moves and play to their most efficient ability throughout the game.

2. Fix their issues in midfield

East Bengal were overwhelmed in the midfield battle against East Bengal, which forced Bruzon to admit they lacked consistency in the middle of the park.

The midfielders have to significantly pick up their performances in the derby or else risk being embarrassed by the Mohun Bagan players. Anwar Ali might be tried in the midfield again, but he’ll have to be more proactive and aggressive in winning possession in key areas and play better forward passes.

Jeakson Singh also has to be more composed with his work in the middle of the park, avoid making regular fouls and instead focus on using his physicality to win key duels and frustrate the Mariners.

East Bengal need to be way more compact with their midfield shape to close down Mohun Bagan’s chances of moving the ball around effortlessly and stop them from creating chances through the central areas. They also need to be precise with their high pressing, because failing to execute the presses could cause their backline to be completely exposed to the Mariners’ clinical attacks.

1. Be more efficient in counter-attacks

The thing about East Bengal’s approach for the Kolkata Derby is that they can’t just focus on being defensively solid or winning possession regularly. They also need to be way more prolific in the attacking third than they have been in the majority of the ISL matches this season.

East Bengal might have improved their goal-scoring ability under Bruzon, having scored nine goals in the last four games, but they still lack that cutting-edge nature in the counter-attacks.

East Bengal should have plenty of opportunities to break through with swift breaks against Mohun Bagan, but they’ll be of no use unless they can’t do anything about it in the final third. Bruzon has to properly train his players to be decisive in moving forward with the ball when Mohun Bagan have more players on the other side of the pitch, and more importantly to finish off the chances better.

East Bengal have been sloppy in finishing off counter-attacks this season, but they need to tap into their ruthless streak in converting those chances if they want to win the derby.

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