ISL: ATK Mohun Bagan thrash East Bengal 3-0 in Kolkata Derby

Roy Krishna opened the scoring in the 12th minute before Manvir Singh doubled the lead and then Liston Colaco completed the drubbing with ATKMB's third goal in the 23rd minute.

ATK Mohun Bagan beat SC East Bengal 3-0 in the Indian Super League fixture on Saturday; Credit: Twitter/@atkmohunbaganfc
By Sreejith C R | Nov 28, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

ATK Mohun Bagan thrashed SC East Bengal 3-0 in the first Kolkata derby of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season at Tilak Maidan on Saturday. ATKMB scored three goals in the space of 11 minutes to secure their second win of the season in as many games. Roy Krishna opened the scoring in the 12th minute before Manvir Singh extended the lead and then Liston Colaco completed the drubbing. It was a dominant performance from the Mariners as the 372nd edition of the 100-year-old rivalry turned out to be a one-sided affair.

ATKMB head coach Antonio Habbas chose to go with the same side which beat Kerala Blasters 4-2 on the opening day.  Although it was East Bengal who looked bright right from the start as they tested the opposition defence with a corner kick, early in the match. However, ATKMB broke the deadlock with a nicely worked team goal.

Manvir laid the ball to right-back Pritam Kotal and the Indian international’s cross was slotted in by Krishna with a delicate right-footed first-time volley. Two minutes later, ATKMB once again raided the right side. Joni Kauko played a brilliant through ball to release Manvir singh on goal and the 26-year-old beat East Bengal goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya at the near post with a powerful right-footed strike.

East Bengal were playing with four central defenders and their makeshift fullbacks were struggling to cope ATKMB’s wingers. In the 23rd minute ATKMB once again took advantage of East Bengal’s Achilles heel, this time it was the left flank. Hugo Boumous played a brilliant through ball for left winger Colaco, although Arindam was quick to come off the line, he spilt the ball on the edge of the box and that allowed Colaco to pick up the pieces and slot the ball into an empty net.

Arindam soon had to be substituted as he was injured in the process and Suvam Sen was brought in. East Bengal boss soon brought in Amarjit singh Kiyam into the mix and with more than half-hour to go exhausted all their five substitutions. Adil Khan, Derisevic and Chima were brought in.

Dominant performance from ATKMB

However, the ATKMB was too good for their rivals as they kept piling on the pressure and didn’t allow the Red and Golds to register even a single shot on target. Kauko once again had an impressive game in the midfield. The Finnish playmaker was dictating the pace of the game, he wasn’t hesitant to go forward and join the attack whenever possible. Moreover, the 31-year-old was also helping his defence whenever needed.

ATKMB as usual allowed the opposition to have the majority of ball possession and were more busy creating meaningful chances whenever they had the ball. Habbas’ side didn’t waste any time in getting the ball forward, their transition from defence to attack was very quick and their two pacey wingers Manvir and Liston were pivotal to this counter-attacking strategy. Moreover, their full back’s Pritam and Subhasish Bose also had an impressive game.

It was a dominant performance for ATKMB. The win helped ATKMB to jump to the top of the points table, two points clear of Jamshedpur FC. Now, the Mariners will take on Mumbai City FC in a repeat of last season’s final on Wednesday. While East Bengal play Odisha FC next.





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