Jose Ramirez Baretto baffled East Bengal with his magical touch as Mahindra United floored the Kolkata giants with a 1-0 victory in a crucial ONGC National Football League match in Kolkata on Monday.
The Brazilian struck in the 68th minute to break the deadlock in the game that saw the Mumbai side steamrolling the locals, particularly in the second half, on home turf, the Salt Lake stadium.
Baretto, as impressive as always, displayed classic opportunism and reflexes as he latched on to a nice through from substitute Surajit Bose on top of the box, took a quick turn, and, on seeing rival 'keeper Nassem Akhtar narrowing the angle, fired an instep shot that sneaked in through the near post.
It was the former Mohun Bagan striker's fifth goal in the tournament and kept him on top of the leading scorers' table.
Mahindra boosted their tally to 16 points from six outings while East Bengal have 12 points from seven matches.
The hosts, despite being at the receiving end for most part, came across a couple of easy chances in the second session, but they were squandered by Rahim Nabi and substitute Sasthi Duley.
Mahindra medio James Singh, who played a pivotal role in midfield, was adjudged man of the match.
East Bengal looked off-colour in the absence of the injured Baichung Bhutia and Nigerian Mike Okoro.