East Bengal FC vs Al-Arabi SC Player Ratings: Rashid, Jay Gupta shine in ACL 2 playoff

East Bengal qualifies for AFC Champions League Two group stage

East Bengal FC completely outplays the visiting Kuwaiti side Al Arabi, especially in extra-time, to qualify for the group stage of the 2026-27  AFC Champions League Two.

The ISL 2025-26 champions, the Red and Gold Brigade under coach Antonio Lopez Habas made a historic comeback win in the second half of the extra time and have defeated the Kuwait league champions Al-Arabi SC by 4-1 in a scintillating fixture at the Salt Lake Stadium.

It was Iwuala who gave Arabi the lead from a penalty in the 76th minute of the game. But it was Jay Gupta who had equalised for East Bengal and send the home fans into a frenzy. It was Rashid’s ball in from the free-kick as Jay rises the highest, gets his head to the pass, and sends it sailing into the top left corner. The Arabi keeper gets a slight touch but that was not stopping the attempt.

FULL TIME!! East Bengal 4-1 Al Arabi SC!! 🪇🎉🎉🎉There goes the full time whistle and East Bengal have made a huge comeback with a 4-1 thrashing of Al Arabi SC at home to book a spot in the AFC Champions League Two! #IndianFootball #AFC pic.twitter.com/zJpfEqw6vG

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) August 12, 2026

The changes from Antonio Lopez Habas worked so well that East Bengal completely outplayed the Kuwait side in the second half of the extra time. It was once again East Bengal’s captain Mohammed Rashid with a sweet half-volley from an angle, near the edge of the box. A flick came from the right side and the ball bounced a few times in front of the midfielder before he puts his laces through and found the back of the net cleanly.

And the rest was done by the super subs Ikonomidis, David and Rohit Danu. As David Lalhlansanga puts one into the net from a cross given by Chris Ikonomidis and just at the fag end of the game David assisted one for Danu to make it 4-1 in favour of East Bengal.

Here are the player ratings for the fixture of East Bengal vs Al-Arabi SC!

Player Ratings for East Bengal FC

Prabhsukhan Singh Gill – 8/10

Prabhsukhan Singh Gill was once again calm and composed under the goalpost. He made some good saves throughout the game including one goal-line save in the first half of the game. He proved once again that why he is the most reliable one under the goal post when it matters the most.

Hardik Bhatt – 6.5/10

Hardik Bhatt maintained his positioning well and avoided major errors, but did not significantly influence the game beyond the basic defensive duties.

Anwar Ali – 7/10

Anwar Ali managed his defensive responsibilities well, rarely allowing his Al-Arabi markers time or space, and chose his moments to support the attacks carefully, along with his defensive duties.

Sandip Mandi – 6/10

He was also responsible for the penalty that gave Al-Arabi the lead. But other than that he was quite god in patches. In the later half of the game, he managed his defensive duties well to rectify his previous mistakes of the game.

Jay Gupta – 7/10

Jay Gupta was functional in attack and disciplined as well. He kept the left flank under control and often kept possession, contributing to the team’s overall structure. Most importantly scored the vital equaliser from a set-piece provided by Rashid.

Mohammed Basim Rashid – 9/10

Rashid was East Bengal’s most effective player on the field and once again proved why he is the best recruit for East Bengal in the midfield in the recent past. The captain was leading from the front, he made one assist through which Jay Gupta scored the equaliser and scored one brilliant goal by himself. His composed finish in the second half of the extra time gave the Torchbearers the advantage and showed his ability to capitalise on limited opportunities, especially under pressure. Throughout the match, he remained a constant threat with his intelligent movement and positioning, often finding chances.

Jeakson Singh Thounaojam – 6.5/10

Jeakson showed the intent to get involved, showed pace and helped maintain basic structure, but struggled to impose himself creatively or defensively

Daniel Ramirez Fernandez – 5/10

Dani Ramirez failed to impress and did not play to his potential and was thus substituted in the second half by PV Vishnu.

Edmund Lalrindika– 6.5/10

Edmund was quick on the flank and attempted to break the Al-Arabi defence. He made several forward runs and helped during transitions. However, his final delivery and decision-making in key moments fell short. He was substituted later on by David Lalhlansanga.

Bipin Singh Thounaojam – 6/10

Bipin Singh was involved in quite a few opportunities but couldn’t capitalise on those chances. He missed out on a sitter in the first half from a pass given by Jesin TK, he was very late to react on that ball. He was good in patches throughout the game, late ron he was replaced by Rohit Danu.

Jesin TK – 5/10

He was again failed to impress what was expected from him but was again good in patches and missed out on few good chances as well.

Substitutions

David Lalhlansanga -8/10

He was the game changer and the super sub in the later half of the game and scored one easy goal from a super pass given by Chris Ikonomidis. He was calm and composed and done his duties as instructed by his head coach. He made one assist too in the dying moments to make sure that Rohit Danu scores one, and East Bengal can win it big by 4-1.

Rohit Danu – 7/10

Rohit Danu came as a substitute in the 89th minute in place of Bipin Singh and had an immediate impact into the game. He earned a foul and by the virtue of that foul East Bengal scored the equaliser from a free-kick. He maintained his position well, and was involved in the attack as well. He scored the final goal for East Bengal from David’s pass and made it sure that East Bengal win it big by 4-1 and goes through to the group stages of ACL Two.

PV Vishnu – 6/10

Vishnu tried his best to provide some momentum to the attack with his pace, attacking skills. He came in as a substitute for Jesin TK. He had a quite good game after his arrival into the pitch.

Chris Ikonomidis – 5/10

Chris Ikonomidis is not fully match-fit but was doing his duties in the wings and made a good assist through which David scored his goal. But if gets more match time Ikonomidis can be a vital asset for the Red and Gold Brigade in the upcoming days.

Rohit Kumar – N/R

He came in as a substitute for Rashid but as such had no impact in the game.

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