Kolkata, May 21: The ISL 2025–26 season ended in favour of East Bengal FC. East Bengal FC became the Indian Super League 2025–26 champions. Sealing a 2–1 win in the final fixture against Inter Kashi, East Bengal FC secured the championship on Thursday evening at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan. The Kishore Bharati Stadium then turned into a red-and-gold sea after 22 years of waiting for the championship.
Indian football witnesses the madness and emotion of the East Bengal supporters. It remains doubtful whether celebrations of this scale have been seen in the last 22 years or not. Kishore Bharati Krirangan turned into a sea of red and gold, with tears, chants, flares, and pure passion taking over the night.
About the match, in the 14th minute, Inter Kashi took the lead through Rohit Danu’s lobbed pass, which was finished brilliantly by Alfred Planas. The first half seemed tight as the Kashi side played compact football. However, the two maestros — Youssef Ezzejjari and Rashid changed the colour of the game in the second half, turning it completely into red and gold.
In the must-win clash, Youssef Ezzejjari equalised for East Bengal FC in the 50th minute. Then, in the 73rd minute, Rashid gave the Red & Gold Brigade the lead.
At the same time, in the Mohun Bagan SG fixture, the Mariners were trailing 1–0. However, Manvir Singh scored in the 89th minute, and Jamie Maclaren found the winner in the 90+8th minute to seal a dramatic victory.
In the Mumbai City FC fixture, Mumbai were leading by two goals through Ralte and Vikram Pratap Singh’s goal. It became challenging for East Bengal FC, as even a draw would not have been enough if Mumbai had gone on to win. But the Red & Gold Brigade ensured a comeback victory to snatch the crown away from their arch-rivals, who were defending the title.
As for the fourth fixture, the match between Odisha FC and Jamshedpur FC ended goalless.
So, after all four fixtures ended, the points table finished like this — East Bengal FC ended on 26 points with a +19 goal difference. Mohun Bagan SG also finished on the same points, but with a goal difference of five goals behind, they ended up in second place. Mumbai City FC finished third with 25 points and a +8 goal difference.
Oscar Bruzon reinvented the winning roadmap of East Bengal FC after Subhas Bhowmick, who achieved it during the ASEAN Club Championship era. After a span of 22 years and 28 coaching changes, Oscar arrived one and a half years ago and, with his mastermind approach and a completely new setup, guided East Bengal FC to the top-tier league title of India.
From years of heartbreak, patient, and hardwork to finally lifting the crown again, Oscar Bruzon etched his name into the history of the Red & Gold Brigade forever. Kolkata waited, the fans believed, and the dream finally came alive.
A night that will live forever in Kolkata football history.
ISL 2025-26 – Inter Kashi vs East Bengal FC highlights
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