East Bengal 0-1 Mohun Bagan: Key takeaways from Kolkata Derby in IFA Shield 2026 Final
Mohun Bagan clinch their back-to-back title.
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Mohun Bagan were able to clinch the 2026 IFA Shield title with a gritty 1-0 win over East Bengal in their clash at the Salt Lake Stadium (Kolkata) on Thursday (8 October, 2026).
The solitary goal from Samir Zeljkovic in the first half was enough to help the Mariners clinch the IFA Shield championship at the expense of their rivals, taking revenge for the loss at the 2026 Durand Cup final as well.
It was a pretty cagey clash between the Kolkata rivals, with there being a lot of physicality at play and back-and-forth in the two halves. East Bengal tried everything to try and get an equaliser and get back into the game after going behind, but were just not able to breach the Mariners’ goal on the night.
The Kolkata derby, as has almost always been the case, turned out to be an eventful clash where there were some notable things that were learnt. Here, we look at the major takeaways from the 2026 IFA Shield final.
The Mariners’ players had responses for everything that the Torchbearers threw at them on the night, not allowing their players to get behind their backline to score on multiple occasions. The entire Mohun Bagan backline did their job superbly, with the likes of Mehtab Singh and Alberto Rodriguez being particularly influential with their timely defensive contributions.
Panagiotis’ ability to shape his side to hold together such an unbreakable defensive line paid off as the Mohun Bagan players worked their socks off in the rainy conditions and defended as one unit to get their win over East Bengal in compelling fashion.
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