Mohun Bagan came. Mohun Bagan saw. Mohun Bagan conquered.
Two large margin wins coming from Sergio Lobera, who is dead set at doing a three-peat in an unstoppable fashion. While the previous Coach, Molina, was known for a balanced approach with a strong defensive setup, Lobera had the same tools in his hand but he foresaw an alternate future for the team. With the talent Bagan possessed, he concocted a potion of ultimate destruction on the pitch. He unlocked quality players’ potential like Maclaren who scored once in every previous match and four against Odisha FC and Dimi who is improving day by day, showing glimpses of his prime form a couple of years ago. It is needless to say that the rest of the squad has improved significantly and adapted nicely to his gameplan as well.
Game Analysis – Lobera’s Beautiful Football
Liston started in the CAM role at first, Cummings on the right and Dimi on the left. Odisha FC pressed up front, intercepting the ball early and applying pressure. After a while, Lobera switched the positions, sending Liston on the right wing and Cummings going deep inside the box alongside Maclaren. Tekcham rushed in down the right wing and Subhasish did the same on the left. Apuia tracked back to play as a pseudo center back for ball distribution from the backline. Thapa stood in tandem nearby looking for the right pass into the attacking half. Dimi was allowed to play more freely given the increase in Green-and-Maroon numbers in the attacking half. That’s when the whole game changed.Bose gave an incredible performance. He delivered pinpoint crosses that found Maclaren on the other end. Maclaren headed it in for his first goal of the game. 10 minutes later, Dimi put in a long ball pass from a freekick for Liston. He dribbled past one inside the box and placed the ball at Maclaren’s feet, who buried it in the bottom net. Maclaren’s fox in the box movements became too difficult for Odisha FC to deal with. Right before half time, Alberto saw space and he wasn’t afraid to conquer it. He moved up and took a shot by himself. A grounded banger that was inch-perfect! Amrinder fully stretched but the ball went past him and hit the 2nd post before crossing the white line.
With a 3-0 lead, fans were doing the “Poznan” on the stands. However, that cleansheet didn’t last very long. Soon after, a long pass from defence went deep into Bagan’s box. Mehtab tried to body-block Rahim but in one swift move, he slid past him as well as dribbled past a closing down Vishal and finally slotted it in the back of an empty net.
Scoreline became 3-1. The sudden conceded goal surprised the fans and a hush fell over at the VYBK. No later than 2 mins, Liston gets a ball on the right wing. He pushes the left on the right, runs through on the left, gets it back and crosses the ball with precision to Maclaren, who pounces like a tiger and scores a hattrick for Mohun Bagan! Before the half time whistle, Mohun Bagan led the game 4-1.
In the 2nd half, both teams made substitutions. Manvir came on later. He delivered a couple of passes, took some shots too but missed the mark. In one such instance, he passes the ball to Maclaren who stood freely in the box but ball goes out of control after a poor receiving attempt. It could have been four or five for the Aussie all-time A-league high scorer. Tekcham remained vigilant throughout the game, showcasing his pace and defensive abilities- playing the role of a proper full back. After Subhasish was subbed off for Amey, the new signing wasn’t up to the mark and often let Rahim Ali and Isak get the better of him in defence. Tom arrived in place of Mehtab to provide more stability. Vishal stepped up and made a couple of great saves.
In a counter attack at 88’, Rahim Ali broke the offside trap and found himself in a 1-on-1 situation with Vishal with no defenders near him. Vishal played that moment perfectly. He rushed out but slowed down in front of Rahim, keeping his eyes on the ball. When Rahim went to dribble past him, Vishal outstretched his left leg and secured the ball. An open chance missed by Odisha FC. A few seconds later, they get punished by Maclaren’s wrath. Manvir delivers a similar long ball pass to Maclaren who makes no mistake and slots it past Amrinder into the bottom corner of the net. 4 goals galore for Macca!
Mohun Bagan didn’t show any signs of slowing down their aggression. In these 90 minutes, they have come to rule! Attacking moves were made on both ends, where Alberto did well to thwart attempts while Maclaren, Sahal, Liston and Manvir combined to score more. Despite a few more shots, the final whistle blew with the final scoreline of 5-1.
Jamie’s Masterclass⁴ seals the deal for Bagan tonight!
— MBFT (@MBFT89) March 6, 2026
Another 5 Goal haul for Mohun Bagan, with Macca scoring 4, and Alberto 1!
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-: Players That Stood Out :-
Jamie Maclaren – He was unstoppable. In the previous matches, he got the chances but couldn’t convert many of them. He adapted and improved a lot, making crucial runs and finding himself in the small pockets of space in the box, a special skill he is proficient in.Alberto Rodriguez – The Monster stood tall in defence and stopped most attacks from being dangerous. His outstanding performance made it possible for Bagan to only concede one with such an attack aggressive gameplan. He also scored a banger from attacking third that rattled the net. His ball distribution skills were top-notch – the real playmaker of the match.
Liston Colaco – He was struggling in the midfield at first, but after he shifted to the right wing, he was courageous enough to make the runs in the box, dribble past players and find the striker with the ball. He also pressed up high and tracked back to recover the ball and maintain possession. On the left wing in the second half, he maintained the same combination with the players. Though he wasn’t able to score, his shots looked promising and they may pose a danger to the upcoming opponents.
কলকাতার ROSOG⚽⚽⚽⚽ALLA !!
— MBFT (@MBFT89) March 6, 2026
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A big win in a big way for Mohun Bagan against Odisha FC. Mohun Bagan has won the Rosogolla Derby. Our favourite round and juicy sweet stays with Kolkata.
Sergio Lobera is doing solid work with the team but he must focus on making the defence more compact and impenetrable at the same time while attacking with all force. A clear plan in defence seems to be lacking and there are still some areas to improve on, like making better use of set pieces and consolidating offside traps.
Next week, Bagan travels to Sree Kanteerava Stadium to face FC Bengaluru. The first game away from home but Bagan remain the clear favourites being table toppers with +12 GD. The Mariners are sailing smoothly towards their goal of achieving a three-peat and anything that stands in its path gets smashed into smithereens! 4 wins from 4 matches, 12 points. A flawless run! The fans are confident and the players are vibing. 9 more matches to go!
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