Oscar Bruzon voices discontent as East Bengal slip up in title race after draw with Punjab FC

East Bengal’s title hopes were hurt after the draw against Punjab FC.

East Bengal lose what could prove vital ground in their race for the 2025-26 Indian Super League (ISL) title as Punjab FC stay stubborn to steal a point in Kolkata.

The second half saw a significant improvement in Oscar Bruzon’s team’s attack, particularly in the last moments when Miguel and Rashid were prevented by the goal’s frame. Punjab, on the other hand, will also regret its lost opportunities, particularly in light of the home team’s shoddy and careless defence. Prabhsukhan Gill also made a few vital saves to keep the score tied.

The Red and Gold Brigade could have held onto the top spot going into the derby at the weekend, but a spirited performance from the Shers means that Mohun Bagan SG now holds the advantage.

The result leaves East Bengal with a one-point lead at the top of the table, with Mohun Bagan set to take the place if it manages to beat Inter Kashi on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Punjab is sixth in the standings with 19 points, three behind the leader.

After the goalless draw against Punjab 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 Punjab FC.

Updates on the injury concerns of Saul Crespo and Anwar Ali

Oscar Bruzon gave updates on why Saul Crespo was not available for the match against Punjab FC on Monday and also shared his views on the recurring fitness issue of Anwar Ali after the exciting draw against Punjab in Kolkata.

Oscar stated: “Good evening, everyone. Saul had a last-minute, surprising injury. After coming to the stadium, he told us that he’s having a problem with the call, so in the last minute, we had to call Martand to complete the team list. Actually, Saul would have been the game changer in the second half if he were there, as he can hold and play the ball really well in the midfield. But again, we had to make a force change in the first half after Souvik got a yellow card, Jeakson was introduced in the defence line.”

“Regarding Anwar, it is the same thing. He’s having a recurring injury issue, so he can only play for 65-70 minutes; it is very unfortunate for us. But we will do our best to make him fit for the Kolkata Derby so that he can play the full 90 minutes, he added.”

Views on the upcoming must win Kolkata Derby against Mohun Bagan

As it stands after the Punjab match, East Bengal now have to win the Kolkata Derby against the Mariners to keep their title hopes alive in this year’s ISL campaign.

Bruzon said: “The feeling I have today that we have got very valuable one point today. Very positive draw for us. It now depends on us, if we win our last two games, then we will complete our dream. The one point of today is an important one as it will help the club to qualify for the AFC Champions League if we can finish second, as Mohun Bagan has been banned.”

” Today’s one point will help us to think more practically and consolidate our position in the points table. As I have always told you guys, our first target is to finish in the top six, so now the league becomes more intense after this draw. If we win our last two games, we will be able to complete our dream. We will try our best, make all the players fit for the Derby so that we can bring out positive results in the must-win game against Mohun Bagan, he also added.”

Analysis of the game against Punjab FC

The Spaniard stated: “I think today’s game was a beautiful one to watch from the stands; there were a lot of things happening for the fans to enjoy, but for me it was a tough one on the bench. For all of us on the bench, it was very difficult as we know the importance of today’s three points.”

“Analysing the game,, I can say, in the first 30 minutes we played very flat football with a 4-5-1 formation. We allowed them to attack; we were behind due to their physicality. They were doing a lot of nutmegs but we defended well. Again, in the last 15 minutes of the first half, we came back well, but Miguel and Bipin couldn’t play freely through the wings today.”

“But in the second half, it was all about us, we created most of the chances, we defended well, but luck was not in our favour today. Gill also made two crucial saves. The shots attempted by Rashid and Miguel came off the crossbar; it was very unfortunate. But in the context of the league, today’s one point was very crucial for us to consolidate our position in the top half of the table. But we are not satisfied with today’s draw, now it depends on us how we play our last two games to complete our dream.”

“Everyone is thinking that Mohun Bagan will win against Inter Kashi, let’s see, we did our part, got one valuable point. There is no contention, but we will do our best to win the match against Mohun Bagan and the last match against Inter Kashi to complete our dream.”

“Today, Gill, after a long time, played his part and made some crucial saves. Nunga and Rakip came back to the playing eleven after a long time, and we were very confident and resilient in their performance. And as we talk about the metrics, today we’re able to keep a clean sheet as well, and this was our longest unbeaten streak of eight matches in ISL.”

“Souvik and Kevin told me today that the match officials were very strict on them today. However, Kevin escaped the yellow card, and he is available for the Derby, but unfortunately, Souvik will miss the Kolkata Derby. Souvik got the yellow card just after the start of the game. He was very unhappy and was also eager to continue, but we couldn’t allow another yellow and down to 10-men in a crucial game like this in the 15-20 minutes of the game, so we had to make the force substitution of Souvik with Jeakson, who finished off with.”

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