Northeast United vs Diamond Harbour Highlights Durand Cup Final: NEUFC crowned back-to-back champs after 6-1 demolition

Northeast United vs Diamond Harbour Highlights Durand Cup Final: Asia’s oldest football tournament and one of India’s most prestigious sporting competitions has reached its conclusion, with the Durand Cup 2025 final between Northeast United FC and Diamond Harbour FC set to take place at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. ISL outfit NEUFC are the defending champions, but will face a stiff challenge from tournament debutants and a team enjoying the fairytale run of all fairytale runs, with the Harbour Boys receiving a chance to lift their first major Indian trophy since their inception only 5 years ago....Read More

NEUFC have been flawless in their tournament defence this far, holding the flag high for the ISL during the tournament’s uncertain future, and going unbeaten through the group stages and the knockouts. A confident victory over Shillong Lajong in the semifinals helps them reach this stage, with a chance to go back-to-back. By that merit, they start off as favourites — but it's a spirited group that opposes them, one which has tasted defeat at the hands of Mohun Bagan in the group stages, but reached the semifinal and managed to upset the other half of the Kolkata Derby by beating East Bengal 2-1.

NEUFC boast of the tournament’s top-scorer, Moroccan Alaaeddine Ajaraie having netted 7 times over the course of the tournament for the Highlanders. He leads the way for the team, but it is more difficult to pinpoint a singular threat for a Diamond Harbour team which has spread the goals around: Brazilian star Clayton Silva and Slovenian veteran Luka Majcen have found the net 4 times each, while Sairuat Kima has scored three times himself.

Diamond Harbour only qualified through to the knockouts as the second-best second-placed team in the group stages, their goal difference being one point superior to the team that just missed out — and consider that luck if you will, but it's commendable for a team that just earned promotion to the I League to be competing for a Durand Cup at such a nascent stage, and taking the challenge to established ISL teams. Do they have enough steel and spirit to hold off a team that will themselves be hungry to go back-to-back with the cup wins? Or will it prove to be that there's just too much firepower up the sleeves of Northeast United that will push them through to the championship?

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