Chennaiyin FC 5-3 East Bengal FC — Brison and Irfan deliver as Bipin struggles
Chennaiyin FC defeated East Bengal FC 5-3 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai in the Indian Super League 2026-27, handing the defending champions their first loss of the ISL 2026-27 season. The encounter produced eight goals as Chennaiyin dominated the match and finished with close to 25 attempts on goal.
Chennaiyin controlled large portions of the game and produced multiple goal threats, with Brison Fernandes and Irfan Yadwad each scoring twice and Ramon Tanque adding another to complete the hosts’ five-goal tally. East Bengal, coming off a disappointing result in the AFC Champions League Two, were unable to match Chennaiyin’s intensity; David Lalhlansanga, Ake Loba and Dani Ramírez scored for the visitors.
Mohammad Nawaz delivered a steady showing for Chennaiyin, making several saves, executing routine catches and sweeping off his line to clear long balls. Saheef contributed important interceptions and recoveries but conceded a penalty owing to a handball in the box. Nuno Reis had a mixed game: defensively reliable for long spells, he was blamed for the opening goal after stepping too far forward, yet he completed ten crucial clearances inside the box and two recoveries.
Laldinpuia was solid in duels and clearances, recording five clearances including one in the first minute and a crucial block, while also making two recoveries, committing no fouls and not being dribbled past before a late missed header allowed David to score East Bengal’s third. Namgyal Bhutia had limited defensive work, completed two clearances and three recoveries and produced threatening set-piece deliveries and several attacking movements. In midfield, Ayush Chhetri finished with 90% passing accuracy, won three duels, completed all his tackles and registered five recoveries, three clearances and two interceptions despite a misplaced touch that led to the first goal conceded; Nikola Stojanovic posted 85% passing accuracy, completed three long balls and forced a notable save from Prabhshukhan Gill.
Brison Fernandes scored twice and won the penalty that led to Chennaiyin’s third goal, opening with a near-post finish and later beating Madih Talal to curl in a second strike down the left. Madih Talal played 35 minutes before withdrawing with an injury, during which he created four key chances, registered an assist and took two shots. Irfan Yadwad supplied the assist for the opener and converted two finishes himself, attempting nine shots and narrowly missing a hat-trick with a low-driven effort in the second half. Ramon Tanque converted a penalty for his first goal of the match, provided an assist for one of Irfan’s goals, created two additional chances and struck the woodwork on a transition break.
Chennaiyin’s substitutes influenced the outcome: Hriata replaced the injured Madih Talal and set up Irfan’s opener while recovering the ball in the sequence leading to Irfan’s second, passing to Ramon who assisted. Bryce Miranda, introduced around the hour mark, created two big chances with one leading directly to a goal and delivered a low cross for Prakadeswaran that Prabhshukhan Gill saved; Prakadeswaran also forced a reaction save and completed several take-ons. Jiteshwor Singh entered to press the defence and found some attacking positions but could not combine effectively, while Glan Martins, with limited minutes, won his only attempted tackle and ground duel but failed to complete a pass.
Prabhshukhan Gill kept East Bengal in the contest with six saves despite conceding five goals that the report attributes largely to defensive lapses and being out of shape. Defensively, Chungnunga, Zivulic and Sandip Mandi struggled, with Zivulic noted as missing partner Anwar Ali and the defensive line described as intermittently absent. Jay Gupta was exposed on the left early, being out of position for the fourth-minute move that led to Brison’s cross and was replaced at halftime by coach Antonio Habas; Jeakson conceded the penalty by fouling Brison five minutes before half-time and picked up a yellow card, while Rashid lost possession 21 times.
In attack for East Bengal, Vishnu recorded three shots with two on target but failed to convert, while Bipin’s performance drew criticism and he was substituted. Dani Ramírez assisted Ake Loba’s first-half goal and converted a penalty in the second half; Loba’s finish around the half-hour mark came from a Dani Ramírez setup and was his only shot of note. Edmund, introduced later, helped win the penalty with a dribble but did not register a shot; replacing Bipin, Rohit got three shots on goal though he did not score. David Lalhlansanga came on for Loba at the hour mark, slotted his chance into the bottom corner and remained active around the box, and Hardik Bhatt, a like-for-like change for Chungnunga, was not involved when Irfan scored the fifth. Later in the match Rohit replaced an exhausted Dani Ramírez in the 86th minute and delivered a long pass from deep that the striker controlled and converted.
The final scoreline read Chennaiyin FC 5, East Bengal FC 3 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Chennaiyin’s goals came from Brison Fernandes (two), Irfan Yadwad (two) and Ramon Tanque, while East Bengal’s scorers were Ake Loba, Dani Ramírez and David Lalhlansanga.
