Kerala Blasters thrash East Bengal 3-1 in ISL opener

Adrian Luna (left) of Kerala Blasters FC and Tuhin Das of East Bengal FC vie for the ball during the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 football match between Kerala Blasters FC and East Bengal FC, at Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi. Pic/PTI

Ukrainian midfielder Ivan Kaliuzhnyi struck twice after Adrian Lima opened the account as Kerala Blasters started their Indian Super League campaign in style, crushing a lacklustre East Bengal 3-1 in the opener, here on Friday.

The opening goal was scored in the 72nd minute after a barren first half. Luna latched onto an inch-perfect long ball from Harmanjot Singh Khabra, which found him inside the opposition penalty box. Luna slotted it home and dedicated his goal to his daughter. Ivan doubled the lead in the 82nd minute with a stunning effort when he picked up the ball on the left side and from around the middle of the park, he made a darting run inside the box. Ivan shrugged off a couple of challenges and slipped past the East Bengal defenders with ease.

He then moved to the right side and just placed the ball into the right bottom corner. However against the run of play, Alex Lima's scorching left-footed pile driver from a loose ball off a flag-kick helped East Bengal pull one back in the 87th minute. But in the 89th minute, Ivan's bullet punch from nearly 25 yards beat the East bengal goalkeeper hands down and sealed the issue for the home team in-front of a vociferous crowd.

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