Mohun Bagan Super Giant Secures Durand Cup Title with 10-Man Victory over East Bengal

In a hotly fought championship match, Dimitri Petratos showed an extraordinary flash of brilliance as the 10-man Mohun Bagan Super Giant defeated East Bengal 1-0 with their first Durand Cup victory in 23 years.

Anirudh Thapa's dismissal from the game in the 62nd minute left Mohun Bagan with one less player, but they still managed to tie the score in the 71st minute thanks to an incredible solo effort by Petratos.

The East Bengal goalie, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, was reduced to a spectator as the Australian player quickly counterattacked and deftly maneuvered past the East Bengal defense.

Mohun Bagan won the Durand Cup for the 17th time with this victory; their last triumph came in 2000 when they overcame Mahindra United with a golden goal.

Coach Carles Cuadrat of East Bengal sent on Nishu Kumar, VP Suhair, and Edwin Vanspaul three times in the closing 10 minutes of play in an effort to tie the game.

Juan Ferrando, the coach of Mohun Bagan, used eight men in defense with Anwar Ali serving as a reliable midfielder.

Dimas Delgado, the assistant coach for East Bengal, and Ferrando got into a violent argument, and as a consequence, the former was sent out during the extra time in the second half.

Edwin Vanspaul took a shot from beyond the box in the 86th minute, but Anwar Ali quickly responded and made a critical stop to prevent East Bengal from scoring an equalizer.

With this triumph, Mohun Bagan was able to exact revenge on East Bengal for their 1-2 Durand Cup final loss in 2004. Three Durand Cup final defeats for Mohun Bagan in recent years, the most recent being in 2019 against Gokulam Kerala (1-2).

East Bengal has been trying to win a national championship for almost 11 years, and their last senior-level victory came in 2012 with the Federation Cup.

Both sides had scoring opportunities, but no one was able to take advantage of them, leaving the opening 45 minutes of play scoreless.

In the last seconds of the first half, Sahal Abdul Samad handed the ball to Petratos, who tried a shot but missed the crossbar.

Moments earlier, East Bengal had a counterattacking opportunity that Nandhakumar Sekar and Siverio both squandered, with Rakip and Borja combining well on the right wing.

Hugo Boumous missed a fantastic chance to score in front of an open goal around the hour mark, costing Mohun Bagan the game. Hugo was well positioned inside the box after Petratos' high ball found Manvir on the right, but Hugo was unable to convert the opportunity, extending the scoreless draw.

Two minutes later, Anirudh Thapa was given a second warning for tackling Siverio, reducing Mohun Bagan to 10 players. As they both attempted to catch an aerial ball, Thapa's high boot accidentally struck the Spaniard in the head, resulting in the expulsion.