Al Shorta came from behind to beat East Bengal 3-2 in Kolkata on Tuesday, playing the closing stages with ten men. David Lalhlansanga scored twice for the hosts, but two Al Shorta goals in two minutes after the break left East Bengal with one point from two Group D games.
Kolkata, India: East Bengal led twice and could not hold either lead. They went ahead early, went in at half-time in front, and still finished the night with a defeat that makes the road to the AFC Champions League Two knockout rounds much steeper.
A fast start and a quick reply
Lalhlansanga opened the scoring in the eighth minute, finishing a move down the right that began with a Hardik Bhatt cross. Al Shorta answered in the 14th, when Ahmed Yahya headed in from a cross to level. The Iraqi side finished second in their domestic league last season and have played in the AFC Champions League Elite in each of the previous two campaigns.
East Bengal regained the lead shortly before the break. A backheel from Rashid released Lalhlansanga, who struck his second in the 40th minute to make it 2-1 at half-time. The brace leaves him level with the competition’s leading scorers on two goals.
Two goals in two minutes
The match turned within eight minutes of the restart. Hussein Al Saedi equalised in the 51st minute, and two minutes later Kingsley Kuku headed in from a corner, the ball deflecting in off East Bengal goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill. East Bengal were behind for the first time in the match.
Chances after the red card
East Bengal got their opening in the 76th minute. Al Shorta’s Abdoul Moumouni, already booked, was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Jay Gupta, and the visitors had to defend their lead with ten men. Substitutes Zwolinski and Ake Loba came on in search of an equaliser, but Al Shorta goalkeeper Jalal Hassan made several saves, including from Edmund Lalrindika and Lalhlansanga, and East Bengal could not turn the extra man into a goal.
A steep climb in Group D
The result leaves East Bengal third in the group with one point from two matches, after a 2-2 draw with Al Hussein on matchday one in which they also let a two-goal lead slip. Al Shorta have won both their games and lead the table on six points. The top two in each group go through to the round of 16, so East Bengal now need results in their remaining four fixtures, starting away to Al Seeb in Oman on 27 October.
It is the first defeat of the group campaign for a side that reached this stage with a 4-1 extra-time win over Al-Arabi in the qualifying round. Before that trip they return to Indian Super League action against Churchill Brothers on Sunday, 18 October.
Result: East Bengal 2-3 Al Shorta (half-time 2-1)
Scorers: East Bengal: David Lalhlansanga 8′, 40′. Al Shorta: Ahmed Yahya 14′, Hussein Al Saedi 51′, Kingsley Kuku 53′
Dismissal: Abdoul Moumouni (Al Shorta), second yellow card, 76′
Competition: AFC Champions League Two 2026-27, Group D, matchday 2, Salt Lake Stadium (Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan), Kolkata, Tuesday, 13 October 2026
