Sunil Chhetri’s late equaliser ends East Bengal FC’s playoffs charge

by Chittu Shetty March 3, 2025

Down to 10-men for the entire 2nd half, East Bengal FC drew 1-1 against Bengaluru FC at the Vivekananda YBK Stadium, Kolkata in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25.

Despite a man advantage in the second half, and holding a majority of the possession, the blues needed the added time of the second half to grab a point from the fixture, ending East Bengal FC’s playoff charge. The Red and Gold Brigade, placed 8th, have 28 points from 23 games now, and could get to a maximum of 31 with one game remaining, which would still fall short of the currently sixth-placed NorthEast United FC (32).

East Bengal FC started the game on the front foot, making early inroads into Bengaluru FC’s defensive third. They consistently exploited spaces on the right side of the Blues’ backline, with Naorem Mahesh Singh leading the charge. One of his sharp runs into the box saw him cut the ball back for Dimitrios Diamantakos, who showed some neat footwork before unleashing a powerful shot on target. However, Bengaluru’s custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was equal to the task, making a strong save to deny the opening goal.

Undeterred by the miss, East Bengal FC’s attacking unit continued to press forward with intent, constantly probing for a breakthrough. Their persistence paid off in the 11th minute when Saul Crespo worked his way into the box. Though he briefly lost balance, Crespo managed to nudge the ball to Raphael Messi Bouli, who cut inside from the right and fired a low shot into the bottom left corner — leaving Sandhu with no chance.

The hosts, however, suffered a setback just before half-time when Diamantakos was shown a red card for a rash challenge, leaving East Bengal FC with ten men. Sensing an opportunity, Bengaluru FC began to capitalise on their numerical advantage, using the wings to stretch East Bengal’s defence.

One of the Blues’ best chances came in the 71st minute when Naorem Roshan Singh swung in a cross from the left, perfectly picking out Edgar Mendez inside the box. Mendez, though, couldn’t keep his left-footed effort on target. Bengaluru kept pushing, and in the 80th minute, Alberto Noguera whipped in a dangerous cross, which Aleksandar Jovanovic headed onto the post. Ryan Williams pounced on the rebound, but his follow-up shot was superbly saved by Prabhsukhan Singh Gill.

The visitors finally got their reward in the dying moments of the game. In the 90th minute, Sunil Chhetri’s presence inside the box forced Nishu Kumar into a handball, earning Bengaluru FC a penalty. Chhetri stepped up and calmly slotted the spot-kick into the bottom right corner, sealing a hard-fought 1-1 draw for his side.

FT: East Bengal FC 1 (Raphael Messi Bouli 11’) – 1 Bengaluru FC (Sunil Chhetri 90+1’)

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