Oscar Bruzon highlights East Bengal's key issue after Chennaiyin FC loss

Oscar Bruzon’s East Bengal are mathematically out of the ISL Playoffs.

East Bengal witnessed their Indian Super League (ISL) playoffs hopes significantly dented after sustaining a frustrating 3-0 loss to Chennaiyin FC at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Saturday (8 February).

The Marina Machans took a quickfire double lead in the first half through an Nishu Kumar own goal and Wilmar Jordan strike, before Daniel Chima Chukwu scored a third in added time to embarrass his former side.

After the match, Oscar Bruzon pointed out that East Bengal’s lack of consistency in their performances is the core reason for them struggling to get closer to the playoffs position this season. He stated: “Absolutely, the difficult part for us is finding consistency. We are making changes to the starting XI, many players come back from injuries too early. The likes of Saul Niguez are not ready to match the intensity.

“Chennaiyin FC are a physical team who defeated us in second balls, duels, all the runs and were more aggressive, especially in the first half. We couldn’t match the intensity of their game, so the inconsistency is due to the problems we are having in the squad. When we win, we win together and when we lose, we lose together. All the mistakes, it’s better to clean the dishes at home. We’ll address the mistakes as we made many individual errors today,” he added.

When asked about what his side’s plans are for the remainder of the 2024-25 season, the gaffer added: “We have to recompose the team, finding our best performances. The AFC Challenge League is the final competition we have to figh this year, also the Super Cup.

“But if we receive news that the Super Cup isn’t going to happen, that means the federation is making a big mistake. A lot of focus on the AFC Challenge League, the Super Cup and try to finish in the middle of the ISL table,” he finished off with.

East Bengal will hope to get back to winning ways when they face off against cross-city rivals Mohammedan Sporting in a mini-Kolkata Derby on Sunday (16 February).

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