Oscar Bruzon reveals what East Bengal must do to defeat Mohammedan Sporting in ISL

The Red & Gold Brigade head coach wants his side to fill the empty spaces better during matches.

Oscar Bruzon’s East Bengal look to finally get their first win of the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) campaign when they face off against Mohammedan Sporting in the mini-Kolkata derby on Saturday (9 November). The Red & Gold Brigade are coming off an inspired showing in the AFC Challenge League, where they won their group to move onto the quarterfinals.

But Oscar Bruzon has left that achievement in the past and is focused on ousting a Mohammadan side that have lost their last three games. Speaking about the prospect of facing the Black Panthers in their current form, he explained: “I’ve assessed them and they have good players in central areas, (Mirajlol) Kasimov and Alexis (Gomez). (Makan) Chothe and (Lalrem)Sanga Fanai on the wings are also good. They have a balanced team and they are using the space on the wings well. We are aware of their strengths. We will try to capitalize on their weaknesses tomorrow.

“They might not be in the best way, but we are also not in our best way. Both teams will look to get up the table tomorrow and also know the prestige of the Kolkata derby. This will be out 248th match and it has national importance. This is an ISL game, not a local competition and we’re in a delicate situation with both clubs.

“We are in the maximum level of competition. Our approach will be to playing fast football, try to collect in central areas, and move the ball outside. The most important thing is how to balance the team when we lose the ball, because we are getting penalized every game in our defensive transitions. If we are giving freedom to our players to attack, what we must understand is that the mechanism of balance. If we play one winger, the three other players must be more responsible to hold their position and know the position of the team. That will be our approach for tomorrow and we’ll see how it goes,” he also stated.

How does Bruzon want East Bengal to play?

Bruzon also opened up on how he wants his East Bengal team to play, especially in filling the empty spaces better during matches. He claimed: “In particular positions, in our attacking force, we have Talal, Dimitrios and Cleiton. They are more comfortable in central areas. But we consider our game as one to make a good istribution of the space. We need to occupy the spaces well, both in attack and improvise the spaces in defence. This is energy.

“When you talk about energy, it’s not only about the moment of pressing but also about how the distance about our players is less, it looks like we are stronger because all of us are occupying the spaces well. I’m happy with Cleiton, he’s excited and eager to do everything to contribute strongly tomorrow. We have a lot of players who can do one particular work and we need to think and make good distribution of the space in the pitch,” he finished off with.

East Bengal have lost all their six ISL matches in the ongoing campaign. They hope to finally get their first points with a much-needed win on Saturday under the leadership of Oscar Bruzon.

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