Durand Cup 2025: Red and Golds Start With a Dominant 5-0 Win

Photo by Debjoy Biswas/Pixel Sports

East Bengal FC couldn’t have asked for a better start to their Durand Cup 2025 campaign. Under the lights at the Salt Lake Stadium, the Red and Golds turned on the style and smashed Bengaluru’s South United FC 5-0 in front of the home crowd.

Right from kick-off, the home side looked in control. In the 12th minute, Lalchungnunga rose the highest to head home the opener and get the party started. Just before half-time, Spanish midfielder Saul Crespo made it 2-0 from the spot. At that point, South United already looked rattled.

And to be fair, that was just the beginning.

South United came out with more structure in the second half and did manage to keep East Bengal quiet for a while. But as the game wore on, the pressure began to tell.

Coach Oscar Bruzon brought in fresh legs — and that changed everything.

Bipin Singh took only eight minutes to leave his mark, scoring in the 80th minute. Six minutes later, Dimitrios Diamantakos unleashed a screamer to make it 4-0. And if that wasn’t enough, Naorem Mahesh wrapped things up with a calm finish in the 89th minute.

The crowd loved every bit of it.

From defence to attack, East Bengal looked sharp and confident. The subs made an impact, the midfield controlled the game, and the forwards made sure the scoreboard told the full story.

Coach Bruzon couldn’t have asked for a better start. For South United FC, it’s a tough pill to swallow, but they’ll have to regroup quickly.

Scoreline:

East Bengal FC 5–0 South United FCGoals: Lalchungnunga (12’), Crespo (38’ P), Bipin Singh (80’), Diamantakos (86’), Naorem Mahesh (89’)

This win will surely boost East Bengal’s confidence going into the next few matches. And for the fans — well, it was the perfect Durand Cup curtain-raiser.