Kings lose 4-0 to East Bengal

Bashundhara Kings' bid to progress to the knockout stage of the newly introduced AFC Challenge League was dashed when the five-time Bangladesh Premier League Champions suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to India's East Bengal FC in their second match in Bhutan on Tuesday.

Bashundhara Kings also suffered an identical 4-0 defeat to ATK Mohun Bagan FC during 2022 AFC Cup encounter.

After losing the first match 1-0 against Nejmeh FC, who beat Paro FC 2-1 in the day's first match, Kings had no other alternative but to secure full three points against East Bengal to stay in the race.

However, the players hardly showed any urgency as the charges of Valeriu Tita conceded the lead in the very first minute with Dimitris Diamantakos side-volleying inside the box without facing any resistance from Kings' defenders.

Kings' vulnerable backline then allowed Souvik Chakraborty to double the lead in the 20th minute while Nandhakumar Sekar made it 3-0 six minutes later after Madih Talal had set him free on the left.

Anwar Ali killed off the match by striking the team's fourth goal in the 33rd minute after the defender pounced on a poor clearance to send the ball into the top left corner.

After resumption, East Bengal seemingly opted to defend their lead and Kings began to see more of the ball but could hardly trouble their opponents with Fernandes and Miguel Figueira seeing their efforts going in vein just before the hour mark.

The duo once again came close to reducing the deficit in the 82nd minute after Figueira threaded a neat pass to Fernandes, who saw his shot come off the post as East Bengal comfortably saw out the rest of the match.

Kings with two straight defeats will now play their third and final Group A match against Paro FC on November 1.