East Bengal FC head coach Oscar Bruzon shared his delight as his team breezed past Punjab FC with a 3-1 scoreline at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Saturday’s opener.

Dimitrios Diamantakos, Naorem Mahesh Singh, and Lalchungnunga were on target as the Red and Gold Brigade secured a comfortable victory away from home, completing a league double over the Shers. Moreover, East Bengal FC have been unbeaten in each of their last three away games in the ISL (W2 D1), their joint-longest such run in the league.

Bruzon voiced his pleasure at securing back-to-back wins and urged his players to carry forward this positive momentum into the upcoming matches to finish as high as possible in the league table.

“We don't want to accept the situation of being a bottom three. We want to keep escalating and climbing in the standings, and today is our first step to face the last three games of the ISL. The first one is next Wednesday against Hyderabad FC, and we are going to give maximum priority to this game,” he said in the post-match press conference.

East Bengal FC will host FK Arkadag in the first leg of the AFC Challenge League quarter-final on March 5. Bruzon was happy to see his team getting back into shape ahead of the knockout fixture, saying:

“The AFC Challenge League, the good thing is that we think that the team is getting settled, is getting consolidated, there are a lot of good things now on the pitch, so that is definitely going to be a boost for this demanding last part of the season.”

Dimitrios Diamantakos opened the scoring for the Red and Gold Brigade, marking the first time East Bengal FC had scored within the opening 15 minutes of a game in the ongoing ISL season. When asked about Diamantakos ending his eight-game goal drought, Bruzon emphasized his team’s overall performance, particularly in attack, highlighting the numerous clear-cut chances they created throughout the match.

“Before talking about Dimitrios (Diamantakos) in particular, I hope that we understand that when the team is settled, when they play with spirit, when they have this winning mentality, when we have this level of determination, when they enjoy being part of the system, when they have clear instructions on what to do and what to shape when to press up, how to find the triggers of pressure, and how to make the breaking runs. So that moment is when every player is slowly getting their best level of confidence,” Bruzon explained.

“I think that this is exactly what happened with Diamantakos today. There were a lot of openings and breaking moves on the left side. He was confident that the balls were going to come there on the sweetest spot around his movements. This is the reality. If he had scored one, he could have scored a second one. But he was much fresher, much more energetic, holding the ball, making breaking moves, helping all the players,” he continued.

East Bengal FC’s latest signing, Messi Bouli, has made an impressive impact in his second stint in the ISL. The Cameroonian forward has been a constant threat in the attacking third and has also registered two assists in as many games.

“Our team needed some sharp players, needed some players up front to hold the ball, to give confidence, to find the timing, the right timing to show that level of energy. Messi, what he's doing with us since he joined only three weeks back, actually he's been one of the reasons why we are finding a way to be that effective,” Bruzon analyzed how Messi’s inclusion has changed the dimension of the squad, specifically in their offensive orientation.

“Before we were creating a lot of chances, we were not scoring. We are a team that, in defence, didn't suffer a lot, but I was telling many occasions that our team was having a problem with convertibility, and the reality is that in the last two games, we scored three goals. So Messi is one of the reasons, not only for his goal-scoring and creating opportunities; it's about the confidence that he gives to all our players to come in numbers to the box and to convert the chances,” he further added.

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Oscar BruzonEast Bengal FCPunjab FC2024-2025 Raphael Messi BouliDimitrios Diamantakos