It was only a couple of weeks back when Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan had made a merger deal with ISL-club ATK FC and thus had put an end to their participation in the I-League from the 2020-21 season. Although it was quite disappointing for the loyal fans of the club, Mohun Bagan ensured that they were not leaving without a farewell gift.
The Kolkata-based club on Tuesday won their second I-League title in five years when they beat defending champions Aizawl FC by a 1-0 margin at the Kalyani Stadium. It was Papa Babacar Diawara’s goal set up by Joseba Beitia in the 80th minute of the game that helped Mohun Bagan to seal the victory.
FULL-TIME ⌛@Mohun_Bagan are the #HeroILeague ? Champions ???
MB 1⃣-0⃣ AFC#MBAFC ⚔ #LeagueForAll ? #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/H2iyEqSdue
— Hero I-League (@ILeagueOfficial) March 10, 2020
With this win, Mohun Bagan equalized Dempo FC’s record for the fastest I-League title victory. They did it with four games remaining and Dempo had done the same with an equal number of games remaining in the 2009-10 season.
Year Champions
2007–08 Dempo
2008–09 Churchill Brothers
2009–10 Dempo
2010–11 Salgaocar
2011–12 Dempo
2012–13 Churchill Brothers
2013–14 Bengaluru
2014–15 Mohun Bagan
2015–16 Bengaluru
2016–17 Aizawl
2017–18 Punjab
2018–19 Chennai City
When Mohun Bagan and Aizawl met in their first fixture of the season in Aizawl, the game had resulted in a goalless draw. But Mohun Bagan have gone on to enjoy a flawless season since then. They are on a 14-match winning streak at the moment with their only loss of the season coming against the Churchill brothers in December last year.
The likes of Diawara, Fran Gonzalez and Beitia have been absolutely prolific when it comes to scoring this season. While each of Diawara and Gonzalez have scored 10 goals each, Beitia has contributed with three goals and nine assists as well.
The Mariners have been absolutely rampaging in attack and tight in defence as well. They have not only scored the most goals (35) among all teams in the I-League this season but have conceded the least as well. And that sums up their flawless season in which they have accumulated a total of 39 points.
This win for Mohun Bagan has also made the upcoming Kolkata Derby against East Bengal on 15th of March quite inconsequential. Moreover, the Mariners have the mental edge while going into this encounter as they had won the reverse fixture by a 2-1 margin.
Written by : Prasenjit Dey
