Antonio López Habas accepts responsibility after East Bengal's 5-3 defeat to Chennaiyin in ISL
East Bengal FC were beaten 5-3 by Chennaiyin FC in Chennai in their Indian Super League 2026-27 fixture on 2026-11-08, and head coach Antonio López Habas accepted responsibility for the result while citing defensive disorganisation.
The Red and Gold Brigade, described in the report as the Torchbearers, conceded five goals despite scoring three against the Marina Machans. Habas told reporters he was disappointed with the team's intensity and discipline, saying: "We have to accept the result. Today, the team was too relaxed and gave too much initiative to the opponent. We are not a team that plays with this kind of approach. Evidently, the opponent played well and punished our mistakes."
Habas pointed to an early setback, noting the side conceded inside the opening minutes. "We conceded a goal within the first three minutes of the match. There was no concentration, and maybe we underestimated our opponents. We thought we were better than them," he said.
The coach took personal responsibility for the outcome and described the performance as uncharacteristic. "I assume responsibility for the result of the match. Evidently, I am the coach for the good things and the bad things as well. I have to solve the situation immediately with my players. This is not my team today. It was an accident, and I hope this accident never happens again," Habas added.
Habas identified a structural problem between the team's defensive and attacking units, citing excessive separation among players as a factor in Chennaiyin's counterattacks. "Maybe the problem was that the team was not compact. The team was spread across 60-75 metres when it needed to be within 25 metres. There was a big distance between the players, allowing the opponent to recover the ball in defence, play through the central midfielders and counterattack behind our defensive line," he explained.
On workload and recovery, Habas acknowledged the heavy schedule East Bengal have faced since July while rejecting fatigue as an excuse for the defeat. "We need to recover the team, evidently. We are the only team in the ISL to have played 19 matches. Maybe Chennaiyin have three or four fewer competitive matches. We have played 18-19 matches since July. No excuses, no excuses," he said.
Defensive concerns were highlighted by the fact East Bengal have conceded seven goals across their last two matches and by the absence of defender Anwar Ali following an injury. "We have conceded seven goals, but Anwar played in the last match. He was in the starting eleven, but after that, he suffered an injury. I don’t want to talk about individual players here. We need Anwar, evidently, because he is a very good player. We need him to recover soon," Habas stated. He also addressed goalkeeper selection: "No, no, no. I am very, very clear about the goalkeepers. I have three very good goalkeepers. We decided to have Lachenpa play in the AFC competition because he also deserves to play. I don’t want to play with only one goalkeeper. We have three very good goalkeepers today." On officials, he declined to discuss refereeing decisions, saying: "No, no, no. I don’t want to talk about that," he concluded.
With the ISL scheduled to resume on November 20, Habas said the immediate priority is to restore organisation and recover the squad ahead of the next competitive fixtures.