Inter Kashi’s only goal came from an East Bengal defender, and Loba’s double put the champions top of the ISL
East Bengal were three up inside 22 minutes in Pune and finished 5-1 winners, going top of the ISL table on goal difference.
Oct 23, 2026
Inter Kashi scored against the champions on Friday, but they needed an East Bengal defender to do it. Lalchungnunga turned the ball into his own net in the 28th minute in Pune. By then East Bengal were already three up, and they finished 5-1 winners at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex.
Aké Loba scored twice, Dani Ramírez and PV Vishnu got one each, and substitute Łukasz Zwoliński added the fifth with nine minutes left. It is two wins from two for East Bengal in their title defence, with nine goals scored and one conceded.
Three goals in 22 minutes
Ramírez scored inside two minutes against Churchill Brothers on 18 October, and he did not wait much longer here. In the eighth minute he picked the ball up on the right side of the box and lifted it over Albino Gomes.
The second came on the break. Loba fed Vishnu and he finished low with his left foot in the 16th minute. Six minutes later Wayne Vaz brought Ramírez down in the area, and Loba put the penalty into the top corner.
Lalchungnunga’s own goal gave Kashi something, for seven minutes. Loba scored his second in the 35th and the game was done at half-time.
Habas starts thinking about Oman
Antonio López Habas coached Inter Kashi before East Bengal appointed him in July, and he spent the second half of this one managing his squad. Bipin Singh, who came off the bench to score twice against Churchill, started this time and was taken off at half-time along with Mohammed Rashid. Replacements came on.
That made sense. East Bengal play Al Seeb in Muscat on Tuesday 27 October in the AFC Champions League Two, and they have one point from their first two group games. Ikonomidis then set up Zwoliński for the fifth from close range in the 81st minute, so the changes did not cost them much.
Kashi stuck to their game, which says something for Carlos Vaz Pinto’s plan to keep playing his way against the champions. It did not turn into chances. There is not a single foreign player in their squad this season, and they have one point from three games.
Top on goal difference
The win puts East Bengal top of the table. NorthEast United and Bengaluru FC also have six points from two games, but East Bengal’s goal difference of +8 is well clear of NorthEast’s +4 and Bengaluru’s +3. NorthEast play Odisha FC on Saturday 24 October and can go three points clear.
It was East Bengal’s second win over Kashi in five months. The 2-1 win in Kolkata on the final day of last season gave them the title. Kashi’s next game is against FC Goa on 1 November.