ISL: Historic return to Asia for East Bengal in a bittersweet season

East Bengal FC has returned to AFC continental competition after the long wait of 9 years. They secured their place in the AFC 2024–25 Champions League 2 playoffs after clinching the Kalinga Super Cup title.

They couldn't maintain their Super Cup form at the Indian Super League as they narrowly missed out on the playoffs because of a massive 1-4 defeat to Punjab FC on the final matchday. They ended the ISL 2023-24 season on the 9th position after gathering 24 points.

They managed six wins from their 22 matches this season but lost ten of those matches which hampered their run in the later stages. They have conceded lots of late goals this season and hence dropped many points in the crunch situations.

Here, The Bridge is looking at the overall season for the former champions, East Bengal FC:

Late Blunders

East Bengal has a good defensive record as they conceded only 29 goals this season, which stands in the top 5 defensive record among all the clubs but their main issue is they conceded many of those goals in the closing moments.

There were several occasions where East Bengal took the lead in the game but still couldn't convert that into a win because of these late goals. Eight of their ten losses was a narrow 1-goal defeat which shows their problem in finishing the game.

They also made six draws this season and in two of those draws, against Mohun Bagan and Chennaiyin FC, they were leading the match till the 85th minute but conceded a late equaliser and dropped four points from these two matches.

Lack of Composure

East Bengal has missed a lot of chances in the opponent's final third because of some over-runs, missed passes, and mishandling. This all happened because of a lack of composure and less committed players in the forward line.

They are at the rock-bottom of the table in terms of a number of shots attempted, as they have only taken 179 shots on the goal in the overall season which makes a very below-par average of 8 shots per match.

They have also played four goalless draws this season because they lack finishing. Forex; they played a goalless draw against Punjab FC in a match where they fully dominated. they made 80 dangerous attacks in the match in comparison to Punjab's 44 but still could not find a goal.

Impact of Indian players

East Bengal's key strength this season was their Indian players it partnership of Nandakumar Sekar and Mahesh Naorem on the wings and Souvik Chakrabarti's solid presence in the midfield.

In the defense, Nishu Kumar was the star of the team he made full use of his experience to help the team in defense and even in the attack with his crosses. He played 20 matches this season for the club and also produced three assists as well.

Young goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh has also left his impact on the team and generated seven clean sheets this season. He was one of the key players in East Bengal's title run at the Super Cup.

Emerging Star

PV Vishnu was the emerging player of the tournament for the Red and Gold Brigade this season. The young 22-year-old forward has shown some good skills this season, he made many speedy runs into the box and also troubled the opponent team's fullbacks with his dribbling.

Vishnu's rise from East Bengal's reserve teams had made a significant impact on the team this season which also earned him a national team for the U23 friendlies against Malaysia in March.

He also scored his first-ever ISL goal this season which was very special as he scored a record-breaking 32-second goal against Odisha FC. This goal is in the list of the top five fastest goals of ISL history.

Verdict: 6/10

East Bengal had a very good cup season making it to both finals in the Durand Cup and Super Cup and also winning the Super Cup title to qualify for the Continental Club competition.

The Indian forwards have also lived up to the expectation as both the India-international Nanda Kumar Sekar and Mahesh Naorem Singh made eight and six-goal contributions for the club respectively.

Their main problem this season was a lapse of concentration on numerous occasions and also their foreign signings couldn't make a very big impact except for the captain Cleiton Silva, who was the leading goalscorer for the team.