Brazilian maverick Cleiton Silva paid a perfect tribute to his countryman Pele who passed away day before yesterday. A brace by the 35-year-old striker of East Bengal FC made sure the Red and Gold Brigade complete a double over Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 season.
Even in the reverse fixture against the Blues, Stephen Constantine’s men had notched up a win against Bengaluru FC. The match on 11th November 2022 saw Cleiton Silva scoring a goal and scoring against his former club.
The match at the Salt Lake Stadium yesterday was filled with ebbs and flows. After finding the back of the net through a penalty in the 39th minute, East Bengal FC led 1-0 over Bengaluru FC in the half-time.
However, Bengaluru FC was paid richly for their consistency and persistency as Roy Krishna and Javier Hernandez scored the equaliser for the Blues. In the 55th minute, Roy Krishna dribbled the ball to the end of the right flank before passing it to Javier Hernandez who was near the centre of the goal. East Bengal FC custodian Suvam Sen tried stopping Krishna as he went towards him but wasn’t ready for Javier Hernandez’s shot. Hernandez fired the goal to the back of the net and equalised for the blues.
Cleiton Silva’s brace helped East Bengal FC grab 3 crucial points
Some tense passages of play unfolded at the Salt Lake Stadium as nothing could separate the two sides. However, Cleiton Silva decided to take things into his own hands. After 4 minutes of added time were announced and when East Bengal FC got a free kick near the box in the 2nd minute of stoppage time, Cleiton Silva pulled off an absolute stunner of a goal.
The ball swirled towards the back of the net and the entire crowd at Kolkata erupted into joy and cheers. The electrifying atmosphere was one to watch out for as East Bengal FC logged their 4th win of the ISL 2022-23 season.
One thing that stood out at the end of the goal was Cleiton Silva’s celebration. It was a tribute to Pele, who passed away day before yesterday. He imitated the pose of Pele when he scored the goal and that was a talking point after the game.
With this game, Match week 13 of ISL 2022-23 came to a conclusion and this was also the last game of ISL 2022-23 in the year 2022.
Also read: ISL 2022-23: East Bengal FC Extend Contract Of Defender Lalchungnunga
