Kerala Blasters vs East Bengal

6:30 PM: Hello everyone and welcome to Khel Now's LIVE COVERAGE of the Kerala Blasters vs East Bengal match in the Indian Super League 2022-23.

It’s now time for them to break free of the curse of the bottom places. The Blasters will be under pressure to win the opener, as it is at home and against a newly-built squad like East Bengal’s. But, the Blasters have recruited smartly and built up a very competitive squad for the season. [Kerala Blasters vs East Bengal Preview: Read here](https://khelnow.com/football/isl-2022-23-kerala-blasters-vs-east-bengal-preview) With both sides vying for the title this season and having the intentions of exceeding expectations, this should be a highly-entertaining clash. Please wait for 30 Seconds for the Live blog to load.

Kochi: Ivan Kaliuzhnyi came off the bench to sprinkle stardust on the Indian Super League opener. The Ukrainian scored twice in just 10 minutes to fire ...

Their best moment had been the late goal, but it could have been an earlier chance from the same man, Lima. In the first half alone Blasters had a handful of chances. But Kerala’s hopes of finishing with a cleansheet vanished in the 88th minute when a failed clearance from a corner gifted Alex Lima a chance to shoot. However, they had waited long for the deadlock to break as East Bengal and bad luck kept out their repeated attempts to score. Given the circumstances, most teams would try to waste time on the corner, but Luna swung one into the box, it was dealt with and the ball was loose. Many thought that was the best of the match.

Kerala Blasters vs East Bengal. October 7, 2022. Ostensibly the opening match of the ninth season of the ISL. This one, though, meant that little bit more ...

After the match, the players stayed back, soaking in the love. Kalyuzhnyi, a late substitute, decided the match was his very early on and both goals were products of sheer will as much as it was his skill. after the sanitised version of the past two years, life feels just that tad bit more normal now. The first half was - what this industry calls in polite-speak - a cagey affair. This writer stepped off the metro near the stadium three and a half hours before kickoff - and the place was packed, the mere act of getting out of the station was a struggle. Luna's goal, in the 72nd minute, came after a spell of sustained pressure. It really exploded into life in the last twenty minutes - Luna's goal opening the shackles, as it were. Ostensibly the opening match of the ninth season of the ISL. The match by itself was a good watch. The third was all Kalyuzhnyi again - a half volley from twenty five yards after the ball bobbed out post a corner. The eerie silence that envelops the thick air when Lima makes it 2-1. Over the years they have been witness to pretty dire stuff - 'chip the ball to striker's chest and we take it from there', anyone?

Just as the Blasters' coach Ivan Vukomanovic had predicted, the new faces look capable of producing a few wonderful surprises this season.

And the home fans had plenty to celebrate as Ivan came back to produce another beauty from outside the box seven minutes later, shortly after midfielder Alexandre Lima had reduced the margin for East Bengal. Coming in as a 79th minute substitute, replacing forward Apostolos Giannou, Ukrainian Ivan Kaliuzhnyi was quick to make his mark and make a dream debut. Everything was over in a jiffy and Ivan made it look all so easy.

The winners and losers from Kerala Blasters 3-1 East Bengal on the opening day of 2022-23 Indian Super League.

Stephen Constantine's Red and Golds lineup failed to impress for large periods of the game. Blasters, who finished runners-up last season, will now face ATK Mohun Bagan on Sunday. While the first half ended goalless, the Yellow Army was able to carve open the Kolkata-based club's defence and race to a 3-1 victory.