Bengaluru FC vs East Bengal Player Ratings: Vinith, Rahul dazzle as Mahesh, Lalchungnunga falter | ISL 2024-25

The Torchbearers finished the game with ten men.

Bengaluru FC beat East Bengal FC 1-0 in their first game of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 season on Saturday at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. The match saw Vinith Venkatesh open the scoring in the 25th minute with a clean and composed finish. East Bengal from there on tried pulling off the much-needed equaliser in the first half itself but could not convert from the chances they created.

In the next half of the game, the Blues came close to scoring at times but did not add to the scoresheet. In contrast, the Red and Gold Brigade made every effort to locate the back of the net. However, all their efforts went in vain as they failed to break the deadlock going home without any points in the bag. 

Here are the Indian player ratings for the game:

Bengaluru FC (by Analoy Majumder) 

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu – 7.0

Gurpreet displayed sheer confidence between the sticks. Made a few important saves and key collections and made the job for the defenders easy with a strong commanding presence in the last line of play.

Nikhil Poojary – 7.0

No-nonsense defending combined with continuous overlapping runs and a good defensive presence along the sidelines helped Poojary stand out. His game kept improving, and he successfully stopped the Torchbearers’ forwards from scoring. 

Rahul Bheke – 7.5

Bheke did not allow much space for the East Bengal forwards. Marked, physically dominated, and won multiple duels against Diamantakos executing his role perfectly. 

Naorem Roshan Singh – 7.0

Played diligently on the sidelines, and tried penetrating the final third several times. Naorem Roshan outmaneuvered Rakip on several occasions, helping the team both offensively and defensively.

Suresh Singh – 6.5

Made a few brilliant runs through the midfield. Came close to scoring in the first half but left to find the back of the net. In the later half, Suresh Singh was good defensively and did not allow much momentum to the opponent’s forwards.

Vinith Venkatesh – 8.5

The 19-year-old Vinith was simply outstanding today. Opened the scoring for the Blues, and made impressive runs throughout with the ball. Outplayed East Bengal defenders on multiple occasions.

Sunil Chhetri – 6.5

Maintained good composure and shape till the time he was in the game. Chhetri tried his level best to create and get on the end of goal-scoring chances but came up short as he was subbed off in the 60th minute.

Substitutes

Siva Shakti – 6.5

Siva after coming in the second half brought in more pace in the forward for BFC. Paired well with Pereyra Diaz and Ryan Williams but could not get his name on the scoresheet for the team. 

Chinglensana Singh – 6.5

Came on in the 60th minute and brought in more pace to the team. Played a role in both defence and offence and made some positive runs with the ball.

Lalremtluanga Fanai – N/A

Came on for the last few minutes and did not have much of an impact on the game.

East Bengal (by Uttiyo Sarkar)

Prabhsukhan Gill – 5.5

Questionable positioning for Vineet’s goal. Only made one save afterward and completed just 58% of his passes.

Lalchungnunga – 5.0

Lalchungnunga had a very eventful game at the Kanteerava as he lost track of Vinith for the only goal of the game, but was really energetic on the left. He made five tackles, won six duels, and also did well going forward but his poor decision-making and aggression cost him, as he got booked twice to get sent off.

Mohamed Rakip – 6.0

Rakip kept Chhetri relatively quiet and made five recoveries, but lacked that buzzing energy down the right, not being able to create anything big.

Souvik Chakrabarti – 4.5

Failed to assert himself in midfield, only completing 13 passes and winning just one out of four duels.

Jeakson Singh – 6.5

In his ISL debut for East Bengal, Jeakson started sharply and produced a brilliant long-range shot that was saved early on. Moved the ball around nicely, completing 31 of his 39 passes, and making three tackles to complicate things for the hosts in midfield.

Nandhakumar Sekar – 4.5

Nandha troubled Gurpreet with a powerful long-range effort in the second half. But that was just the only positive. He couldn’t really create anything and came up short despite working hard.

Naorem Mahesh Singh – 3.0

Mahesh Singh’s struggles for East Bengal continued as he completed only nine passes, failing to create anything or threaten Gurpreet, all while resembling a shadow of his former self.

Substitutes

Aman CK – 6.5

Aman had a positive cameo as he added a lot of energy, completing 79% of his passes and also making a few nice tackles.

PV Vishnu – 5.0

Couldn’t really get himself into the game or create anything for his side.

David Lalhlansanga – N/A

Had a quiet cameo late on.

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