East Bengal FC 4-1 Al-Arabi SC: Key takeaways from AFC Champions League Two Preliminary Stage clash

East Bengal book a spot in ACL Two group stage.

East Bengal were able to produce a thrilling comeback to pick up a 4-1 win over Al-Arabi SC in their 2026-27 AFC Champions League Two preliminary qualifier clash at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Wednesday (12 August 2026).

Despite going behind in the second half, the Kolkata giants showcased amazing resolve as Jay Gupta scored a dramatic equalizer to force the match into extra-time.

Then, the Torchbearers scored three goals – with the likes of Mohammed Rashid, David Lalhlansanga and Rohit Danu all getting on the scoresheet to help the Kolkata side reach the group stages of the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Two.

It was a famous win for East Bengal which proves their standing as a team that can produce inspired results in the continental competition and also their first big result under Antonio Habas!

Here are some of the burning talking points from East Bengal’s amazing win over the Kuwaiti side.

Indian forwards’ heroics raises East Bengal’s depth in tricky no.9 role

A lot of East Bengal fans were tensed before the Al-Arabi SC clash, mostly because their star signing from the summer Effiong Nsungsi not being available as he’s yet to join the squad.

There were many questions around who would exactly spearhead the frontline, with Antonio Habas going with Jesin TK to be his starting striker.

To his credit, the 26-year-old forward actually did a pretty decent job – making clever runs past defenders into the final third to trouble them. Jesin’s final product, however, was sorely missing and that void was filled by the other Indian forwards introduced later in the game.

David Lalhlansanga ended up showcasing amazing composure to score his impressive goal, before Rohit Danu also scored a relatively simple tap-in thanks to the creativity of David.

Although Effiong is poised to be East Bengal’s regular no.9 in the 2026-27 season, Habas must’ve been impressed by the hard-working nature of his strikers shown in this game and their element of surprise in the final third. It’s safe to say that East Bengal’s no.9 role won’t be overly dependent on Effiong and there isn’t a case of a one-trick pony needed to keep that position flourishing.

East Bengal’s rapid counter-attacking style brings topsy-turvy returns

Antonio Habas was actually quite pragmatic in the way he set up his East Bengal side to combat Al-Arabi’s threat in the AFC Champions League Two qualifier. While the Torchbearers weren’t overly defensively, going with a four-back formation, they did try to drag the opposition players as much forward as possible to enable their chances of hitting them on the counter-attack.

The Red & Gold Brigade actually produced some eye-catching counter-attacks, with many of them being started off by their proactive goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill – but their final results on these transitions were topsy-turvy.

The likes of Jesin TK and Bipin Singh both scuffed big chances on the transitions, which must’ve frustrated Habas. East Bengal did score their last two goals thanks to some clever work on counter-attacks, but their performance indicated that things are still a ‘work in progress’ when it comes to their transitions.

Habas has to train his side to be much more decisive in such counter-attacking opportunities for them to make it a habit of scoring goals from these situations and make them a nightmare for opponents.

Mohammed Rashid tweak works wonders for East Bengal

Mohammed Rashid had the honour of being the East Bengal captain for this major continental clash, but his role in the lineup was slightly tweaked by Habas to catch Al-Arabi by surprise. Normally, Rashid used to play in a fairly deeper midfield role for East Bengal last season – but the Spanish gaffer gave him more freedom in this clash.

Instead of sitting in front of the centre-back, Rashid constantly changed positions with Dani Ramirez – who had no problems sacrificing his own good to come deeper in midfield and allow the Palestinian midfielder to roam further forward than he normally does.

Ultimately, that turned out to be a masterstroke as it was Rashid who got the ball inside the box before scoring his powerful goal to put East Bengal in the lead in extra-time.

The Palestinian midfielder showcased immense grit in winning duels, neutralising Al-Arabi’s movement through midfield and marshalling his side forward – even playing through pain in extra-time to get them over the line in style.

Antonio Habas’ never-say-die spirit embodied by inspired East Bengal performance

East Bengal were placed in a very tough position in the second half when Al-Arabi took the lead through a penalty, even though the Kuwaiti side hardly deserved to go in front.

In the last few years, the Red & Gold Brigade have gone onto suffer narrow losses after conceding in the second half – but Antonio Habas ensured that wasn’t repeated this time around. The Spanish coach’s decades of experience played a part in this result – as he kept his East Bengal players calm and motivated to be able to get back into the game.

He urged them to keep pushing forward to put Al-Arabi under pressure and not letting them take control of the game in the late phases.

This never-say-die attitude that Habas instilled in being a proactive figure on the touchline to keep pushing his players to work harder paid off as they scored a goal through Jay Gupta’s equalizer to drag the match into extra-time.

Then, Habas’ expert substitutions worked wonders as two of his substitutes scored and played a part in finding away the tired Al-Arabi side. Habas made a few clever tweaks to his system to inspire East Bengal to play more prolific attacking football in the final bits of normal time and extra-time, and his never-say-die attitude ultimately shined on his players to get this big win.

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