East Bengal conceded 5 goals in the absence of just one player—Anwar! Unbelievable! They lost 3–5 to Chennaiyin
Anwar's absence was a major blow to the defence. To make matters worse, Nunga's performance was nothing short of disastrous. The midfield also failed completely. Rashid was nowhere near his usual form. Dani tried hard but lacked his customary touch. Jikson, Bishnu and Bipin also looked completely out of sorts. And there is little to say about the defence. Bryson was allowed to do pretty much whatever he wanted against Nunga.
Image Courtesy: East Bengal FC
Gautam Ray
What a bizarre and unbelievable turn of events! East Bengal, of all teams, conceded five goals against Chennaiyin FC! After putting up impressive performances in the AFC competition and making a brilliant start to their ISL campaign, how could a team undergo such a dramatic transformation overnight? There is an answer. One man was missing – Anwar Ali. East Bengal realised just how much his absence could hurt them. Antonio Lopez Habas's side returned empty-handed after suffering a 3-5 defeat against Chennaiyin FC.
Anwar's absence was a major blow to the defence. To make matters worse, Nunga's performance was nothing short of disastrous. The midfield also failed completely. Rashid was nowhere near his usual form. Dani tried hard but lacked his customary touch. Jikson, Bishnu and Bipin also looked completely out of sorts. And there is little to say about the defence. Bryson was allowed to do pretty much whatever he wanted against Nunga.
There was no marking, no positional discipline and no defensive organisation. That entire area looked like a vast open playground for Chennaiyin. East Bengal were playing with a high defensive line, and Chennaiyin made excellent use of the spaces behind it. Madi Talal and Nicolas repeatedly exploited those gaps. In the first 30 minutes, Talal almost single-handedly tore the East Bengal defence apart.
Then came an unexpected setback for Chennaiyin. Their most creative player, the heartbeat of the team and an outstanding No. 10, Madi Talal, had to leave the field with a hamstring injury. It seemed that Chennaiyin might struggle without him and East Bengal would finally take control of the game. But nothing of that sort happened! Even without Talal, Chennaiyin continued to torment East Bengal, taking full advantage of their defensive frailties.
Chennaiyin simply outpaced, outran and outpressed the Red and Gold brigade. Bryson and Irfan scored twice each, while Ramón added another from the penalty spot. East Bengal's goals came from A.K. Loba, Dani Ramirez, who converted a penalty, and David.
For Bryson's first goal, Talal spotted Nunga blocking his path, making a direct shot difficult. Showing excellent awareness and intelligence, he cleverly let the ball run through to Bryson, who was unmarked behind him and made no mistake. In the 18th minute, Talal received the ball, took on Nunga and beat him before Bryson unleashed a superb finish to score his second.
East Bengal pulled one back through Loba to make it 2-1. Dani Ramirez chased down a defender, won possession and produced an intelligent pass. Loba positioned himself beautifully and finished powerfully like a genuine striker to reduce the deficit.
In the 39th minute, Jikson committed a foul inside the box, allowing Ramón to convert from the penalty spot and make it 3-1.
East Bengal were handed a lifeline immediately after the half-time break. A Chennaiyin defender handled the ball inside the penalty area, and the referee awarded East Bengal a penalty. Dani made no mistake from the spot. However, Chennaiyin responded by scoring twice through Irfan to extend their lead to 5-2.
Chennaiyin could have scored a sixth shortly afterwards. East Bengal's defenders attempted to play an offside trap, but Ramón found himself unmarked in an onside position. With only an helpless Gill to beat, he somehow sent his effort wide.
David then pulled another goal back to make it 5-3, collecting a long ball from defence and finishing well.
But the biggest question remains: can a team really become this disorganised simply because Anwar Ali is missing? East Bengal had been producing such impressive performances. How could they suffer such a spectacular collapse? This was a fall from the heights of the sky to the depths of the ground. Their performance was utterly disappointing.
Chennaiyin did not have to work particularly hard to expose East Bengal's weaknesses. And there is no certainty about when Anwar will return. That makes Habas's next challenge even more intriguing. How will the experienced Spanish coach put this team back on track? That is the big question now.
