Punjab FC create history with historic win against Everton in the Next Generation Cup

East Bengal & Muthoot FA continue their disappointing performance.

The third day of the Reliance Foundation presents Premier League Next Generation Cup was a riveting affair for Indian fans as Punjab FC dominated their matchup against Everton FC. They are the only Indian team to register a win in the tournament in the current edition so far.

Punjab FC’s strikers delivered at the highest level as the team also won the penalty shootout to earn four points for the day. Punjab FC’s coach Sankarlal Chakraborty talked about learning from the past two days and applying all the knowledge gained into the contest today. They maintained more ball possession and were brilliant on both sides of the field while maintaining their composure even in the face of adversity.

India U-20 international Manglenthang Kipgene scores a world-class goal against Everton for Punjab FC in the Next Generation Cup 2024! 🇮🇳⚽️ #IndianFootball #NextGenCup #Everton #PLNextGen pic.twitter.com/pEfadPDKbd

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) August 3, 2024

“We conceded a goal but nobody got demoralised, and that is the true strength of our players. Our full team used team spirit and dominated our rivals technically and tactically to achieve success,” Punjab FC coach Sankarlal Chakraborty said after his team’s thrilling victory against Everton FC in the Next Generation Cup.

He added that entire team feels proud of their win today because an Indian side defeated a European team, saying, “As a coach, and from the perspective of the full team, we are all feeling very proud because an European team was defeated by an Indian team.”

Everton FC won by six massive goals yesterday against East Bengal FC, so after Joel Catesby scored in the 11th minute, many expected another convincing outing from their side. However, Punjab FC players held their nerves and produced a magnificent comeback to win the game 2-1. Coach Chakraborty’s boys came out of half-time with a pep in their step. Manglethang Kipgen scored a peace of a goal in the 26th minute and Usham Thoungamba Singh iced the win with a brilliant strike in the 42nd minute.

Punjab FC didn’t even let Everton FC get a bonus point as they continued their positive day with a 4-3 win the penalty shootout.

East Bengal FC vs Aston Villa FC

Meanwhile, the situation wasn’t as cheerful on the other pitch as East Bengal FC suffered yet another loss in the Next Generation Cup 2024. They were defeated 4-0 by Aston Villa FC in regulation and also couldn’t capitalise in the mandatory penalty shootout.

Aston Villa FC dominated possession and controlled the tempo of the game consistently. They were equally effective in both halves and East Bengal FC, despite their tireless defense were unable to contain the English side’s strikers.

Rory Wilson and I’Lani Edwards scored in the 9th and 16th minute, respectively while Omar Khedr and Mason Cotcher found the back of the net in the 34th and 39th minute, respectively.

Tottenham Hotspur FC vs Muthoot FA

A few hours earlier, Tottenham Hotspur FC faced off with Muthoot FA, and the result was similar to that of the Aston Villa FC vs East Bengal FC game. Across the 50-minute game, Spurs held the upper hand and were seamless upfront. The Anees Koraliyadan-coached side were industrious in their efforts on both ends of the pitch too, but fell short of maintaining adequate discipline at the back, thus giving the Spurs abundant opportunities to find the back of the net.

Beggs pierced into the Muthoot FA box with sheer pace, he delivered a deft low cross that James tapped in to open the scoring for the game. The following two goals were solo efforts by the Tottenham Hotspur FC players. Leon Myrtaj drilled into the right side of the 18-yard box, before doubling the lead of the North London side in the 28th minute.

A long ball in the 44th minute was brought down by Reiss Elliott-Parris with a sublime first touch, and then slotted past Muthoot FA goalkeeper Kamalesh Mathivanan, who had rushed ahead of his line. Three minutes later, Luca Williams-Barnett received and netted a marvelous cross from Miracle Adewole, to round off a convincing outing for Tottenham Hotspur FC. They followed it up by winning the mandatory penalty shootout by a 3-2 margin, thus bagging the bonus point as well.

Brief Scores

Punjab FC 2 (Manglethang Kipgen 26’, Usham Thoungamba Singh 42’) – 1 Everton FC (Joel Catesby 11’)

Aston Villa FC 4 (Rory Wilson 9’, I’Lani Edwards 16’, Omar Khedr 34’, Mason Cotcher 39’) – 0 East Bengal FC

Tottenham Hotspur FC 4 (Herbie James 10’, Leon Mytraj 28’, Reiss Elliott-Parris 44’, Miracle Adewole 47’) – 0 Muthoot FA

Penalties

Punjab FC 4-3 Everton FC

Aston Villa FC 4-2 East Bengal FC

Tottenham Hotspur FC 3-2 Muthoot FA

August 4 – Schedule- Next Generation Cup 2024 final day

1: Crystal Palace FC vs East Bengal FC – 2:30 PM IST

2: Everton FC vs Muthoot FA – 2:30 PM IST

3: Aston Villa FC vs Punjab FC – 4:30 PM IST

Next Generation Cup Final:

4: Tottenham Hotspur FC vs Stellenbosch FC – 8:00 PM IST

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