Al Seeb had not scored in three ACL Two games, and two late goals in Kolkata have left East Bengal bottom of their group
Axel Méyé and Zahir Al-Aghbari scored in the last six minutes at the Salt Lake Stadium, and East Bengal can now reach eight points at most, only by beating Al Hussein and Al Shorta.
Nov 3, 2026
Al Seeb arrived in Kolkata without a goal in three AFC Champions League Two games. They left with a 2-0 win, both goals coming in the last six minutes, and East Bengal are now bottom of Group D with two games to play.
Axel Méyé scored on 85 minutes at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday night, and Zahir Al-Aghbari added the second in the first minute of added time. Until then it had looked like a repeat of the first meeting between the two, a 0-0 draw in Oman on 27 October.
The game East Bengal had to win
Everything about the fixture pointed to a home win. East Bengal had two points from three games. Al Seeb had one point and had not scored at all. It was 0-0 at half-time, and East Bengal had the better of the chances again, but nobody in red and gold could put one away.
That has been the story of their group. They drew 2-2 in Amman, lost 3-2 at home to Al Shorta after leading twice, and could not score in Oman. Antonio López Habas put that goalless night down to tiredness. This time the chances came and went in front of their own fans.
For Al Seeb, the AFC Cup winners in 2022, it is the first win of the campaign, and it takes them to four points.
What East Bengal need now
Before tonight Al Shorta led the group on seven points and Al Hussein had five. The top two go through to the round of 16, and those two meet in Jordan later tonight, at 9:30pm IST.
East Bengal can reach eight points at most, and only by beating both of them. Al Hussein come to Kolkata on 24 November, and the group ends in Baghdad against Al Shorta on 8 December.
It is hard to see a side without a win in four ACL Two games beating the two best teams in the group back to back. The finishing would have to change first.