KOLKATA, INDIA: East Bengal defeated Mohun Bagan 4-1 in the final of the 2026 Durand Cup at the Salt Lake Stadium in Calcutta (Kolkata) on Sunday, August 23. With this victory, East Bengal have now won 17 Durand Cup titles, tying themselves with Mohun Bagan, who, too have won this tournament 17 times.
East Bengal striker Edmund Lalrindika was the hero of the night, ending with a hat-trick to his name. Winger Bipin Singh scored the other goal for the Yellow and Gold Brigade. Manvir Singh scored the lone goal for the Mariners, with the other attackers in the side proving toothless and remaining content by merely sitting and watching the proceedings from afar, so to speak.
The Torchbearers began the game in stunning fashion, with Bipin finding the back of the net in just the 10th minute after receiving a through ball from Mohammed Rashid. Bipin dipped his shoulder, edged past Bagan’s Rahul Bheke and Subhasish Bose before driving the ball into the net past goalkeeper Vishal Kaith.
Mohun Bagan had barely recovered from this early blow when Lalrindika doubled East Bengal’s lead two minutes later. Dani Ramirez set the striker up with a pass on the left-hand side just outside the box before the latter edged past the Bagan defenders, waited for the right moment and then curled the ball into the net past a despairing Kaith.
Ten minutes later, Mohun Bagan conceded their third goal of this Durand Cup final when midfielder Apuia lost the ball in the centre of the park to a tussle with Lalrindika. The latter, who teed it up to Ramirez, received the ball once again via a soft touch from Rashid, who was marked heavily by the Bagan defenders. Lalrindika then rounded past the advancing Kaith before tapping the ball into the empty net.
East Bengal have now tied Mohun Bagan for winning the Durand Cup 17 times
Things appeared to be going downhill for the Mariners, but the hydration break in the middle of the first half gave them a reprieve. Soon afterwards, in the 33rd minute, winger Manvir pulled off a moment of magic when, upon receiving a well-timed weighted ball from Apuia, he dummied East Bengal’s Sandip Mandi on the right flank before taking the ball onto his left foot and curling it into the net.
This brought life back into Mohun Bagan, but the respite did not last long. In the 43rd minute, the stylish Lalrindika completed his hat-trick after finding himself on the receiving end of a weighted pass across the Mariners‘ defensive line from Jay Gupta. Lalrindika tapped the ball into the empty net once again, before rushing off to thank first Rashid, whose free-kick had started the move, and then coach Antonio Lopez Habas, for his faith.
East Bengal went into the half-time break with a 4-1 lead, even as the Mariners dug their heads in shame, looking for ways to mount a comeback. However, the second half turned into a dud, with both clubs being content to maintain the status quo. Mohun Bagan coach Panagiotis Dilmperis tried to infuse some life into his squad by bringing Lallianzuala Chhangte and Kiyan Nassiri on, but to no avail.
The most bizarre moment of the second half came in the 56th minute when Apuia, who had already been booked in the first half, was shown a second yellow card by referee Aditya Purkayastha, but not sent off the pitch. Mohun Bagan, wisely, took Apuia off four minutes later, but the distinguished referee’s mistake rattled the East Bengal fans, who had made one half of the Salt Lake their home in this Durand Cup final.
The Torchbearers, who won the 2025-26 Indian Super League a few months ago, have started the new domestic season on a high under new coach Habas. Having last won the Durand Cup in 2004, this victory will give the Red and Gold Brigade a major boost in morale before the ISL gets underway in October. Mohun Bagan, on the other hand, have plenty of soul-searching to do.
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