Baichung Bhutia scored a fine brace as a 10-man Mohun Bagan blanked East Bengal 2-0 in an I-league football match in Kolkata on Monday.

Bhutia scored once in each half before a crowd of 30,000 at the Salt Lake stadium to leave East Bengal in relegation zone.

Bagan shot into the lead in the 29th minute, thanks to the lethal combination of Jose Barreto and Bhutia. The Brazilian did the spadework on the left and laid a measured cross for Bhutia, who displayed his proverbial scoring opportunism by letting loose a snap right-footer on the run.

He eluded East Bengal defender Debabrata Roy, who was close on his heels, and shot past the near post with custodian Subrata Pal looking a mere spectator.

Bagan were reduced to ten men in the third minute of the second half as Douglas Da Silva got marching orders from referee Dinesh Nair after receiving his second yellow card.

Douglas, who was booked in the ninth minute of the first half for bringing down East Bengal medio Mehtab Hossain, was flashed the card again when he felled Mehrajuddin Wadoo.

East Bengal, however, failed to reap the fruits of the advantage in numbers.

Bagan doubled the margin in the 62nd minute. It all began with Bhutia's effort being blocked by a diving Pal. The ball only went as far as Dharamjit, who was lurking nearby. Dharamjit's shot was also blocked by Pal, but the ball hit woodwork and fell at the feet of Bhutia, who dispatched home.

After 12 matches, Bagan are now in third place with 20 points, while East Bengal are placed ninth with eight points.

With two teams slated to be relegated, East Bengal only have Salgaocar Sports Club, Goa [Images], following them at the bottom of the table.

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