East Bengal beat Mohun Bagan 2-1 in quarter-finals

Dimitrios Diamantakos struck twice as East Bengal defeated Mohun Bagan Super Giant 2-1 in a tense Durand Cup 2025 quarter-final match at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium) on Sunday.

The Greek forward converted a first-half penalty (38’) before doubling the lead early in the second half (52’). Anirudh Thapa (68’) pulled one back for Mohun Bagan, but East Bengal held firm to book their place in the semi-finals of Asia’s oldest football tournament.

The Kolkata Derby began with the teams adopting contrasting approaches. Jose Molina’s Bagan stuck to a traditional 4-4-2, while Oscar Bruzon packed the midfield, leaving Hamid Ahadad as the lone striker.

East Bengal suffered an early blow when Ahadad limped off in the 25th minute, but his replacement Diamantakos quickly turned the game in their favour.

East Bengal had the better of exchanges when the first water break was taken at the half-hour mark. Their persistence paid off when Bipin Singh was brought down inside the box minutes later and the referee pointed to the spot.

Diamantakos made no mistake putting it past a diving Vishal Kaith, who guessed right, but could not beat the placement.

Bagan tried to equalise but the nearest they came was when a strike from Lalengmawia Ralte in injury time went wide of Prabhsukhan Singh Gill’s outstretched dive and his right post.

Molina brought in Australian Jason Cummings in the second half in place of Pasang Dorjee Tamang in an effort to get the equaliser. However, it was Diamantakos who got his second instead, after a well-constructed move.

Lalchungnunga played the ball cross-field from his half to Edmund Lalrindika, who tapped it back on the volley to Miguel.

The Brazilian playmaker received the ball in the middle of the Bagan half, changed track to take out one defender and found Mahesh with a forward ball.

The Manipuri threaded a pass forward to Diamantakos lurking inside, who controlled and took a touch forward, before pulling the trigger with his left on the half-turn. The ball took a deflection off Spanish defender Alberto’s legs and went in.

Kevin Sibille, East Bengal’s Italian centre-back, then brought up a crucial goalline save minutes later, off a Jamie Maclaren attempt from close range, to deny Bagan a goal.

After a sustained spell of Bagan pressure, Liston found the diminutive Thapa unmarked and in space, just outside the Bagan box, from a corner.

Thapa curled a right footer and it went in through traffic in front of Prabhsukhan’s goal. It was a one-goal game with 20 minutes left to play.

Molina then made a triple change in the 70th minute. Dimitrios Petratos, Dippendu Biswas and Deepak Tangri were brought in, in place of British defender Thomas Aldred, Sahal Abdul Samad and Thapa, respectively.

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