East Bengal 2-2 Al-Hussein: Key takeaways from AFC Champions League Two 2026-27 match

East Bengal clinch a point in their first AFC Champions League Two 2026-27 game.

East Bengal played out a dramatic 2-2 draw against Al-Hussein in their first match of the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Two group stages at the Amman International Stadium on Wednesday (16 September 2026).

Antonio Habas’ side started the game in confident fashion and took the lead in the 9th minute itself thanks to some smart close-range finishing from Dani Ramirez.

Then, East Bengal kept the pressure piled onto the hosts and doubled their lead in the 40th minute thanks to a clever header from Anwar Ali.

They headed into half-time with a 2-0 lead, but the hosts weren’t down and out at all. Instead, Al-Hussein pulled one back through captain Mahmoud Almardi in the 61st minute to make it 2-1. Then, substituted Ahmad Assaf scored the equaliser at the 87th minute to salvage a point for the Jordan side.

It was definitely a chaotic match where East Bengal came really close to getting all three points, before having to settle for just one to kick off their ACL Two campaign.

Here are the key takeaways from East Bengal’s thrilling 2-2 draw against Al-Hussein.

Inexperienced full-backs cost East Bengal possible three points

East Bengal were able to hold their own defensively against the onslaught of attacks that the Al-Hussein players threw at him all game long.

In the first half, they withstood the pressure to keep a clean sheet and Prabhsukhan Gill was able to pull off excellent saves time and again in the game. However, the Red & Gold Brigade were just not able to work smarlty enough with their defending through the wide areas to stop the barrage of crosses from coming in. For Almardi’s goal, Hardik Bhatt cheaply gave the ball away outside his own box – giving the hosts the chance to pull one back.

Then, for the second goal, Sandeep Mandi wasn’t able to track the run of Assaf – allowing him to smash home an equalizer from close range.

East Bengal’s defensive work was really solid for large parts of the game, as well as Gill’s shot-stopping heroics, but they realized that making small mistakes can be extremely costly in this competition.

Their full-backs headed into the game with little continental experience, which caused them to struggle against the opposition wide players and being able to neutralize their threat all that well. Perhaps if their full-backs were able to defend in a more sturdy fashion, all three points could’ve been the Indian heavyweights!

Anwar Ali & Diego Zivulic’s heroics go in vain

One of the major positives for East Bengal – even in a match where they conceded two goals – is that how solid the centre-back partnership of Anwar Ali and Diego Zivulic looked like.

Despite playing their first-ever professional game together, the two looked really comfortable with each other and showed promising chemistry in holding together a pretty strong defensive line. Zivulic showcased his experience with an impressive debut for East Bengal, making a whopping 20 defensive contributions and 11 clearances in the game.

Anwar was equally impressive inside the box, having 16 defensive contributions and making 10 clearances. The India international, of course, also scored a goal to show his prowess in the opposition penalty area as well.

The admirable game-reading ability of both Anwar and Zivulic allowed them to make crucial clearances and enable East Bengal to endure pressure in a much stronger way. Unfortunately for the two solid centre-backs, they weren’t able to do much for the goals at all – as it wasn’t for any of their fault – and witnessed their side forced to settle for only one point.

Tale of two halves defines East Bengal’s start to ACL Two campaign

East Bengal were able to surprise Al-Hussein with their positive start to the clash. While the hosts might’ve expected the Indian side to go into their shell and defend from the word go, Antonio Habas’ side turned the switch on them.

They were sharp with their pressing and moving forward quickly, allowing the chance for Ramirez’s goal to be created. Then, East Bengal also proved how they’ve improved in set-pieces (after failing to score from them in the 2026 Durand Cup) by scoring their second from a corner.

After outplaying Al-Hussein for the majority of the first half and putting themselves in a strong position, East Bengal lost all that control after the break.

They were just not resilient enough to thwart everything that the hosts threw at him, and some defensive mistakes caused them to eventually concede two goals. This was a classic case of a ‘game of two halves’, with East Bengal impressing in the first half before the hosts dominated after the break to force the points to be split.

Dani Ramirez comes out clutch in prominent stage for East Bengal

The reason why East Bengal signed Dani Ramirez as a replacement for the departed Miguel Figueira was not only for the Spaniard to echo a similar creative influence as the Brazilian, but also for him to be their weapon in the continental stages.

Ramirez, a product of the Real Madrid youth academy, has gained many notable qualities across his career and he proved just how inspiring he can be for East Bengal against Al-Hussein.

The Spanish midfielder was allowed to play a bit further forward by Habas against the Jordan side and that worked a treat. Ramirez showed his predatory instincts with a clever close-range finish for the opener, capitalizing on the opposition goalkeeper’s errors.

He would then go onto haunt the Al-Hussein custodian again later in the first half. Indeed, it was Ramirez’s swinging corner that completely duped Yazeed Abdulla to allow Anwar to score a scrappy goal that East Bengal took gladly.

Ramirez was promising with his forward passes, always trying to move his side forward on the transitions and he also tracked back diligently to help them out defensively. His proactive performance proved why the Kolkata giants signed the Spaniard and why he should be a key asset for them all through their 2026-27 ACL Two campaign.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.