East Bengal FC secured a crucial 2-1 victory against Kerala Blasters FC at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata, snapping their three-match losing streak in the Indian Super League (ISL).

The Red and Gold Brigade started with high intensity, creating several attacking opportunities through Richard Celis, PV Vishnu, Cleiton Silva, and Dimitrios Diamantakos. The hosts broke the deadlock in the 20th minute when Vishnu scored a spectacular goal, marking his fifth goal contribution in the ongoing 2024-25 season.

Silva delivered an inch-perfect crossfield pass to Vishnu, who sprinted at full speed to gain control of the ball. The Kerala-born winger then beat his marker and chipped it over Sachin Suresh at the near post.

Hijazi Maher doubled East Bengal FC's lead with a brilliant header from a corner kick. Although Danish Farooq managed to pull one back for the Blasters, the hosts held on to secure three crucial points.

With this victory, East Bengal FC remain in 11th place in the league table but has significantly closed the gap with mid-table teams, setting up an edge-of-the-seat thriller in the race for the top six.

Silva remains optimistic about East Bengal FC's chances of qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since their inclusion in 2020. The Brazilian forward is focused on their upcoming away fixture against Mumbai City FC and hopes to carry the positive momentum forward to secure maximum points and bolster their playoff hopes.

"I think, now we have to think about our next game against Mumbai City FC. It's difficult now (to qualify for the playoffs) because we're now too many points behind. We need to focus game by game," Silva said to indiansuperleague.com.

"Next we have a great chance to collect points in the next game in Mumbai, and then we have a game here (in Kolkata) against Chennaiyin FC. Let's see. We keep dreaming. In the past two seasons, we were almost there (in the top six). Let's see if we can reach the top six this season," he continued.

Richard Celis recently joined the Kolkata Giants during the winter transfer window and has been making a strong impact with his creative sparks through the flanks. The Venezuelan forward has been impressive thus far with his adroit skills, sharp footwork, link-up play and on- and off-the-ball attributes.

After missing out on an opportunity to open his tally against FC Goa, he came close to scoring against the Blasters as well, only to be denied by the goalpost. Speaking about Celis' inclusion, Silva remarked,

"He (Celis) has been very good. He comes to help. Since he arrived, he has been helping the team, especially against Kerala Blasters FC."

"He played a very good game. I think he will be helping us in the remaining games of the season," he added.

Jeakson Singh was deployed as a makeshift right-back against the Blasters in the absence of Mohamad Rakip, Provat Lakra and Nandhakumar Sekar, who played as a right-back against FC Goa. While Singh might not have had a solid outing in his new position, especially in the second half.

He received a yellow card in the 83rd minute for fouling Sadaoui, making him unavailable for the next game against Mumbai.

Throughout the season, Oscar Bruzon's men have struggled with key player injuries and suspensions. Instead of panicking about Singh's absence from the game against Mumbai City FC, Silva urged his teammates to explore alternative solutions to address these challenges.

"In every game, it happens. Either we have injuries or yellow cards. We have to play with this," he opined.

"We can't cry. We need to think about the next game and find the solutions," Silva signed off.