Oscar Bruzon highlights East Bengal's biggest positive from Mohammedan Sporting win

This was East Bengal’s sixth-only win in ISL 2024-25.

Oscar Bruzon’s East Bengal picked up a decisive 3-1 win over Mohammedan Sporting to get back to winning ways in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Sunday (16 February). Naorem Mahesh Singh, Saul Crespo and David Lalhlansanga all got amongst the goals to help the Torchbearers get their first-ever derby win in the ISL.

After the match, Oscar Bruzon spoke of how happy he was with the impact of his substitutes in impacting the result. He stated: “One of the plus points of the team was the power of the bench. Saul Crespo and David Lalhlansanga came on and scored, so this is something we lacked in the last weeks and we didn’t find the consistency in 90 minutes.

“Today, the team played well, holding the rival keeping the shape, and being serious with the tactics discipline. The players did a beautiful job. It’s good that we’ve recovered some players from injury and it’s a plus point that we can recover players from the bench. The substitutions helped us to get the result and keep the performance throughout 90 minutes,” he further claimed.

On Raphael Messi Bouli’s performance

The Spaniard also praised striker Raphael Messi Bouli, who made his first start for East Bengal and assisted Saul with his goal. He stated: “The 60 minutes was as far as he could keep the gasoline. His first 60 minutes was very, very good, he was committed, and it seemed like he has been here for the whole season. He gives a lot of dynamics to the team through his breaking runs.

“He has the character and personality, he is always a possibility for the long balls, he can hold the ball, and he can also make runs to make crosses into the box. I’m pretty satisfied and he was one of the players who allowed to keep distances between the lines. He made a lot of runs and triggers when we tried the team pressure, his performance is exactly what we expected,” he also stated.

On Naorem Mahesh Singh’s role

Finally, Bruzon had some kind words for Naorem Mahesh Singh’s ability to excel in a central midfield role for East Bengal, saying: “Mahesh prefers to play on the wing, he wasn’t used to playing in the midfield position. But he’s a creative player, he has something different from all the Indian players and his eyes can be seen by everyone. He was the king of midfield today and with every game, he’s getting more confident, he’s liking the position and he’s the link of the team between defence and attack.

“He had the confidence to make a breaking run in the first half and got the first half. I’m really happy with Mahesh, not only with the goal but how he’s helping the team in the position with how the coach thinks. He’s also having the confidence to feel strong and understanding well what are the characteristics for the midfield area,” the gaffer finished with.

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