Three things we learnt from Richard Celis debut for East Bengal

Richard Celis signed for East Bengal after Madih Talal was ruled out for the season.

East Bengal’s disappointing run of form continued in the Indian Super League (ISL) with a bitter 1-0 loss to FC Goa. One of the encouraging signs from the result, however, was the promising debut of new winger Richard Celis.

The Venezuelan winger was given his official debut with a start against the Gaurs. Even though this was his first appearance since last playing a competitive match on 6 October 2024 (for Academia Puerto Cabello), the 28-year-old winger still looked quite sharp with his movement to trouble the hosts.

He added some much-needed zing and energy to the East Bengal frontline and was especially lively with his overall work in the second half. It might not have been the most successful debut for him as they lost the match, but his performance is clear that the Torchbearers have signed a player with the potential for a major impact. Here are some things learnt from Richard Celis’ East Bengal debut.

3. He works hard on defensive duties

The modern-day demands of football have almost forced wingers or attack-minded players to start working on their defensive qualities. That is because even attacking players are often made to get back into their team’s half to win duels or spark counter-attacks. Well, Celis isn’t the one that shows hesitation in getting stuck in defensively.

The 28-year-old worked really hard in his own half when FC Goa were on the attack, helping recover possession quite a few times for his side. He won three ground duels and made four recoveries and one tackle to ensure that East Bengal didn’t dominate in the half for the entirety of the game. Celis’s ability to win duels and regain control of the ball could play a vital role in helping East Bengal become a more refined unit in the transitions going forward.

2. Celis knows how to sniff out chances

East Bengal had six shots on target against FC Goa (as compared to the Gaurs’ three) and a major reason for that was the proactive Celis. The 28-year-old winger is not the kind who likes showing off his dribbling ability, but also someone hungry to sniff out chances for himself and persistently trouble the opposition goalkeepers. Celis himself had three shots on target, only to be denied by the brilliance of Hritik Tiwari.

The Venezuelan winger was inches away from equalizing for his side in the early stages of the second half, as he pounced onto Nandhakumar Sekar’s cross and beat Tiwari, only for his effort to be clear a few inches away from the back of the net. Celis’ upbeat and positive display showed that he isn’t the kind who will just create chances, but also someone who will raise East Bengal’s shooting accuracy and ensure that they keep testing the opposition goalkeepers on a regular basis.

1. Full of pace and counter-attacking threat

The reason why East Bengal brought Celis on board in the January transfer window as Madih Talal’s replacement is that they wanted pace and incisiveness through their wide areas. Well, the 28-year-old proved he can bring just that in his eventful debut against FC Goa. Celis looked quite desperate for the teammates to give him the ball so that he could just run at the defenders and bypass them into promising positions. He troubled Boris Singh with his speedy runs and got the better of him multiple times, despite only playing his first competitive game in over three months.

The 28-year-old created a big chance on the counter-attack by totally outpacing the defenders in the first half, only for his teammates to fluff the chance. The good thing about Celis is that he should be able to make his darting forward runs more often once he regains peak match fitness.

But his promising display against FC Goa proved that there is a lot more to come from the Venezuelen, who should add power and ruthlessness to help East Bengal finish off their counter-attacks more efficiently going forward.

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