East Bengal were crowned champions of the Indian Super League for the very first time in Kolkata on Thursday, ending a 22-year title drought in the nation’s top-tier competition and quenching their passionate fans’ yearning for silverware after a thrilling five-horse race for the top prize.
East Bengal, one of the country’s most decorated football clubs alongside their arch-rivals Mohun Bagan Super Giant, emerged triumphant after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Inter Kashi at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan.
This came even as Mohun Bagan, another contender for the title alongside Mumbai City FC, Punjab FC and Bengaluru FC heading into the decisive final round of fixtures, rallied to beat Sporting Club Delhi 2-1 at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan.
Mumbai
City FC beat Punjab FC 2-0 in their face-off, while Odisha FC and Jamshedpur FC played out a goalless draw in an inconsequential game.
East Bengal, however, were made to work hard until the last minute after Alfred’s brilliant first-time finish put Inter Kashi in the lead in the 15th minute.
After missing multiple chances to equalise before the break, East Bengal found the much-needed equaliser in the 50th minute through striker Youssef Ezzejjari, who also won the Golden Boot after finishing as the league’s highest goal-scorer with 11 goals from 13 matches.
Mohammed Rashid scored East Bengal’s second goal in the 73rd minute as the Kolkata heavyweights turned the game around in stunning fashion.
East Bengal last won the top-tier domestic league title during the 2003–04 season of the then National Football League under the guidance of the late Subhash Bhowmick.
The 33-year-old Ezzejjari, who was born in Spain and represented Morocco at the youth level, thus made up for his earlier missed opportunities in the match.
East Bengal entered their final league game level on 23 points with Mohun Bagan at the top of the standings. However, East Bengal held a crucial advantage with a superior goal difference of +18 compared to Mohun Bagan’s +13.
Three other teams — Mumbai City FC, Punjab FC and Jamshedpur FC — were also mathematically in contention in the title race heading into the final round of fixtures.
Because of administrative and structural changes, the ISL this season returned in a shortened, single-leg round-robin format consisting of 13 matches with no post-season playoffs, which meant the league table topper would be crowned outright champions.
(With PTI Inputs)
