Mohun Bagan overcome East Bengal to win Durand Cup 2023

It was an exciting Sunday for the Indian football fans. The final of the 2023 Duran Cup saw Mohun Bagan and East Bengal clash for the 391^st time. Durand Cup is the oldest football competition in Asia.

This edition was the 132^nd edition of the tournament with 42 games being across by the 24 participating teams. East Bengal had already won this tournament record 16 times and were looking for their 17^th title. At the other end of the field was Mohun Bagan, who also had won the title 16 times. The winning team would have bragging rights to be called the most successful team in Bengal.

Title number 17 for ten-man Mohun Bagan 

East Bengal and Mohun Bagan started the game slowly as both teams battled it across the field. The first chance of the game for East Bengal came in the 24^th minute when they came close to scoring the goal. The next big move came in the 35^th minute as there was a substitution with Jose Pardo coming in for Jordan Elsey due to injury. Elsey had scored for East Bengal in their quarter-final win.

Just before halftime, there was a fight between the players on both sides. Saul Crespo of East Bengal fouled Mohan Bagan forward Armando Sadiku. There was a lot of pushing and shoving as the game re-started with five minutes added. Mohun Bagan nearly scored in the final minute of the time added on. Petratos’ shot just flew over the bar as the halftime whistle was blown. There was further bad blood as Anirudh Thapa was shown a yellow card before the half time.

The 2^nd minute of the second half saw East Bengal nearly score. One more yellow card followed as the game started to become more intense. Mohun Bagan then came close to breaking the deadlock in the 60^th minute. The match turned in the 62^nd minute as Anirudh Thapa was shown his 2^nd yellow card. Thapa had sent off for a high foot tackle and Mohun Bagan was down to ten men. It was suddenly an advantage for East Bengal with the game becoming more open.

Petratos’ effort changed the course of the game

The game changed in the 71^st minute as Mohun Bagan forward Petratos came up with a brilliant effort. Petratos running a solo show put the ball into the back of the net as the joyous Mohun Bagan fans exploded in delight. East Bengal tried to make a comeback to the game with lots of extra time added. The 93^rd minute saw Dimas Delgado the assistant coach of East Bengal get shown a red card. The final whistle came in the 99^th minute. The Mohun Bagan players celebrated winning the 2023 Durand Cup. This was a record 17^th title for Mohun Bagan as the fans and players showed their delight after the title win over their arch-rivals.