Summary of this article
Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal played out a 1-1 draw in ISL 2025-26
Edmund Lalrindika and Jason Cummings were the scorers
East Bengal gain advantage in title race with this result
The ISL 2025-26 title contention took a massive twist when the much-awaited Mohun Bagan Super Giant vs East Bengal, Kolkata Derby 2025-26 match finished with a 1-1 draw. Both goals came in the dying minutes of the game with Edmund Lalrindika giving East Bengal the lead first and then Jason Cummings finding the equaliser soon after. While East Bengal take the advantage while entering the final matchday, Mohun Bagan stay alive as well.
The game was one of the bests of the Kolkata Derby with both teams playing an open style of football. Mohun Bagan needed a win desperately, while East Bengal were significantly ahead in goal difference and could keep the advantage in hand with a draw as well. The high stakes made the match an end-to-end encounter, with both teams having their sighs at the goal.
PV Vishnu, Vipin Singh and Anton Sojberg got sitters in the first half, which they failed to convert. While Mohun Bagan retained possession for a long time, they couldn't get massive openings like East Bengal.
Mohun Bagan showed more urgency in the second half. They started to attack the wings and Abhishek Singh forced a save from Prabhsukhan Gill. Liston Colaco also had a deflected free kick missing the goal narrowly. Mohun Bagan started to breath on the shoulders of the East Bengal defence.
East Bengal responded strongly. In a spell of attack, they opened the Mohun Bagan defence multiple times. Miguel Figueira made space for himself to shoot but found Vishal Keith. Mohammed Rashid's shot was blocked too. When Mohun Bagan tried to counter, Kevin Sibile stood tall at the East Bengal defence.
The deadlock snapped in the 84th minute. Once again, Figueira found substitute Edmund Lalrindika on the right side and the forward finished it clinically by driving a shot across into the net. He took a booking by celebrating with his shirt off as well.
The lead didn't stand long though. Once again substitutes combined to score. Dimitri Petratos put in a poisonous corner only for Jason Cummings to attack it on the first post and flick a header home. The equaliser made MBSG dangerous and they created back-to-back attacks after and almost took all the three points.
Gill made a crucial save against McLaren and East Bengal somehow survived despite Edmund getting a send-off after seeing a second yellow. Throughout the game it looked like East Bengal coach Oscar Bruzon was too late to do the subs. It was also felt that the Mohun Bagan coach Sergio Lobera was caught off-guard by Bruzon's strategies initially but he fixed things in the second half.
Bruzon's first substitution came in the 63rd minute.
'Didn't Feel The Need'
When Oscar Bruzon was asked by the Outlook Correspondent about his thoughts on the late substitutions, he pointed out the proceedings of the first half.
"The game was so open, I didn't feel any lack of energy, besides Vishnu. In the last thirty minutes he was showing some signs of facing difficulty to give the help on the sides. They started to attack the sides. Robson was coming. They based their game more on the wings. So besides Vishnu and Anton, who were the players who probably were not in our pressing triggers, in the moment of pressure, that is creating the pressure. I think all our players finished the game quite tired, from a physical point of view".
"It is true David was ready to come, Nandha was ready, Nunga was ready. We had very good options on the bench. Ezzejjari with this. But I think in the game of today we didn't need a lot of changes because we were controlling, we were attacking continuously, so I didn't feel any need to do any early substitutions in the second half".
During the post-match press conference, Oscar also revealed that him not starting Youssef Ezzejjari was a plan to disrupt Mohun Bagan's build up from the back through the positional defenders through tactical play.
"Our Plan Worked"
When the Outlook Correspondent asked Sergio Lobera to react on Oscar's claims of putting off his defenders with the ball, he denied any such observation.
"I don't think so. He has a plan, we had a plan. I think our plan worked. With our chances, We started the game very well. I think it was a very good day for both teams. They played well also. But maybe we deserve a little bit more".
"This is my feeling as a coach, I want to watch the game again, but my feeling now, our plan worked and we had the chances to win the game. It was more of our mistakes than the plan of the opponent. With maximum respect".
East Bengal are currently the league leaders with 23 points in 12 matches. They are ahead of second placed Mohun Bagan by 5 goals in goal difference. Mohun Bagan also have the same point from same number of games. A win for East Bengal will seal their ISL 2025-26 title on the final matchday, which will be their first National League title in more than two decades.
Mohun Bagan will have to hope that East Bengal drop points. In that case, a win for them in their last match will clinch a title victory for them. If both teams drop points, Punjab FC and Mumbai City FC can enter the mix as they are on the fourth spot with one match in hand and 22 points beside their name.
East Bengal play Inter Kashi on May 21, Thursday.
Mohun Bagan play SC Delhi on May 21, Thursday as well.
How is the winner decided if teams finish level on points at the top of the table?
Because the single-leg 13-game format features no playoffs, tied teams are separated first by head-to-head records and then by overall goal difference, giving East Bengal a massive advantage over Mohun Bagan.
What does East Bengal need to do to secure their maiden ISL championship?
To guarantee the title without relying on other results, East Bengal simply needs to defeat Inter Kashi in their final match on May 21.
Can Mohun Bagan Super Giant still retain their league title on the final matchday?
To retain their title, the Mariners must defeat Sporting Club Delhi on May 21 and hope East Bengal drops points against Inter Kashi, or win by a massive margin to completely overturn East Bengal’s +5 goal difference advantage.
