East Bengal win ISL 2025-26 trophy
Mohun Bagan Super Giant finish runner-up by goal difference
Both teams win 2-1 in their respective matches
In a breathtaking final matchday that will live long in Indian football folklore, East Bengal FC ended a painful 22-year national top-flight league title drought by capturing the 2025–26 Indian Super League (ISL) championship.
Entering the single-leg round-robin finale tied with arch-rivals Mohun Bagan Super Giant at the top of the table, Óscar Bruzón’s men displayed incredible resilience to emerge victorious amid wild live-table fluctuations.
The championship scenarios shifted dramatically during a chaotic first half. At the Kishore Bharati Krirangan, East Bengal suffered an early blow when Inter Kashi’s Alfred Planas slotted home a clinical opener in the 14th minute.
Concurrently, down the road at the Salt Lake Stadium, a highly wasteful Mohun Bagan dominated possession against Sporting Club Delhi but could not find a breakthrough.
The second half turned the title race completely on its head. East Bengal responded like true champions. In the 49th minute, Golden Boot winner Youssef Ezzejjari latched onto a defense-splitting long ball from Anwar Ali to fire home a composed equalizer.
The stadium erupted in the 72nd minute when Palestinian midfielder Mohammed Rashid met a spectacular Bipin Singh cross, firing past Shubham Dhas to put East Bengal ahead 2-1.
For a brief period, the live standings belonged to Mumbai City FC, who took a 1-0 lead over Punjab FC through a rampaging Valpuia, momentarily threatening to leapfrog the Kolkata giants.
Meanwhile, Mohun Bagan’s title defense imploded across town. They fell behind 1-0 to a 62nd-minute Clarence Fernandes header for SC Delhi. Though late goals from Manvir Singh (89') and Jamie Maclaren (90') secured a frantic 2-1 victory for the Mariners, their inability to comprehensively win and make up the goal-difference deficit ultimately cost them the Shield.
Vikram Partap Singh scored a late second for Mumbai City to wrap up a 2-0 win over nine-man Punjab, confirming Mumbai's third-place finish.
ISL 2025-26 Points Table After Matchday 13
| Position | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | East Bengal FC (C) | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 26 |
| 2 | Mohun Bagan Super Giant | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 26 |
| 3 | Mumbai City FC | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 25 |
| 4 | Bengaluru FC | 13 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 23 |
| 5 | Punjab FC | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 22 |
| 6 | Jamshedpur FC | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 22 |
| 7 | FC Goa | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 20 |
| 8 | Kerala Blasters FC | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | -2 | 17 |
| 9 | NorthEast United FC | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | -5 | 16 |
| 10 | Inter Kashi FC | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -6 | 13 |
| 11 | SC Delhi | 13 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -4 | 11 |
| 12 | Odisha FC | 13 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -8 | 11 |
| 13 | Chennaiyin FC | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 | -12 | 9 |
| 14 | Mohammedan SC ® | 13 | 0 | 3 | 10 | -25 | 3 |
By holding their nerve under immense pressure, East Bengal finished a single point ahead of Mohun Bagan, sparking unadulterated bedlam in the red-and-gold half of Kolkata.
For East Bengal and Óscar Bruzón, this triumph represents the ultimate sporting redemption. For more than two decades, the Red-and-Gold Brigade had been haunted by the agonizing tag of near-misses and organizational turbulence, repeatedly watching rival clubs hoist silverware.
This ISL Shield finally banishes those lingering historical ghosts, reinstating East Bengal to their rightful place at the absolute pinnacle of Indian football and triggering a seismic wave of emotion across their massive, long-suffering global fanbase.
For Bruzón, who took over a club in transition mid-season and instilled a ruthless, unyielding tactical discipline, this championship cements his legacy as a master tactician capable of handling the most intense pressure-cooker environment in Asian football.
He succeeded where so many high-profile predecessors failed, delivering a historic double and ensuring that this specific squad will be immortalized in Kolkata folklore forever.
