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Last season's Indian Super League finalists Kerala Blasters played host to last season's bottom-placed team, East Bengal FC, in Kochi on Friday, October 7. They came out 3-1 winners at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium after an action-packed final 20 minutes of the encounter.
East Bengal FC have shed off the prefix that they had for the last two seasons, and have rebranded themselves in their original form.
Kerala Blasters started the season with an almost set squad from last season with the core remaining the same with quality additions up front in the attack.
East Bengal, on the other hand, have a completely new setup under former Indian national team coach Stephen Constantine. The Red and Gold brigade made some shrewd signings during the transfer window. For the first time in the past two years, they had the opportunity to conduct a proper six-week pre-season practice session.
Both teams fielded the expected playing XI, with Ivan Vukomanovic fielding a very attacking XI. Stephen Constantine, on the other hand, as predicted, fielded a more defensive XI.
The first 20 minutes of the game saw both teams trying to settle down and get a hold of the game. Both teams had their fair share of chances but failed to utilize them.
Kerala Blasters had better chances, but failed to convert them. East Bengal FC had some nervy moments in defense today, but they too had a few chances going forward in the first half.
The Tuskers started the second half with more vigor as they created a flurry of chances at the start of the second half.
Adrian Luna scored the first goal of the game from Harmanjot Singh Khabra's long ball in the 71st minute to give Kerala Blasters the lead.
Ivan Kalyuzhnyi scored the second goal of the night with a brilliant solo run in the 81st minute.
Alex Lima scored the first goal for East Bengal FC in the 87th minute as his thunderous strike from inside the box found the back of the net.
However, it was too little too late as Kaliuzhnyi restored a two-goal lead for the Tuskers in the 88th minute. He scored via a world-class volley from outside the box to seal the victory for Kerala Blasters.
The scoreboard at full-time read 3-1 in favor of Kerala Blasters.
On that note, let’s take a look at three things we have learned from today's game:
#3 Kerala Blasters have a set defensive set-up
Kerala Blasters have a set defensive set-up with the back four from the previous season being a part of the set-up this season too. Khabra, Marko Leskovic, Ruivah Hormipam and Jessel Carneiro were superb in defense today and didn't allow East Bengal much space in the final third.
Jeakson Singh and Putea are two players who were also part of the squad last season. They were both brilliant in central midfield today and shielded the defense brilliantly.
Vukomanovic will have his task cut out in getting his defensive shape in place.
Fans will be hopeful of a good showing from their defense this season.
#2 East Bengal FC have a lot to do to get their combination in place
Stephen Constantine started with Charis Kyriakou in the left-back position, along with Ankit Mukherjee as the right-back. Sumit Passi and Tuhin Das started as the right and left midfielders respectively.
The two wide areas were an area of concern for East Bengal FC. Kerala Blasters wingers completely dominated the wide spaces and put pressure on the central midfielders and defenders.
Questions will be raised regarding Constantine's team selection and the reason for not using the likes of Aniket Jadhav and Mobashir Rahman.
The lack of coordination between the midfielders and forwards was evident throughout the game for East Bengal FC.
Constantine and his backroom staff need to get back to brainstorming before their next game against FC Goa on October 12. It will be their first game this season in front of the famous Red and Gold Brigade in Kolkata.
#1 Adrian Luna the gift that keeps on giving for Kerala Blasters
Adrian Luna is without a doubt one of the best players in the ISL. He had a phenomenal season with the Tuskers last season as he guided them to their third finals. He scored six goals last season and provided seven assists, making him one of the standout performers in the league.
He started the ISL 2022-23 season on the same note as the previous season as he managed to get his name on the scoresheet today.
He scored a brilliant goal in the 71st minute to give the Tuskers the lead from a Khabra long ball. Apart from the goal, he kept on troubling East Bengal FC's wingbacks and didn't give them a moment's peace.
If Luna can keep performing like this then the opponents will have a tough time dealing with him.
