ISL 2026–27: Chennaiyin Beat East Bengal 5–3 for First Win

Chennaiyin FC earned their first win of the 2026–27 Indian Super League season on Saturday, beating defending champions East Bengal FC 5–3 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. Brison Fernandes struck twice in the first 18 minutes, Ramon Tanque converted a penalty and Irfan Yadwad scored twice after the break to hand East Bengal their first league defeat of the campaign.

East Bengal twice cut the deficit to one goal, first through Ake Loba and then through Dani Ramírez. Chennaiyin restored their two-goal cushion on both occasions before Yadwad made it 5–2 in the 67th minute. David Lalhlansanga added East Bengal’s third in stoppage time.

Fernandes Strikes Twice in 18 Minutes

Chennaiyin needed just four minutes to breach a defence that had conceded only once all season. Yadwad set up Fernandes, who finished with his right foot. Fernandes beat East Bengal goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill again in the 18th minute to make it 2–0.

Loba pulled one back with a right-footed strike in the 29th minute. Chennaiyin restored their two-goal lead before the interval when Tanque converted a penalty in the 41st minute, sending the hosts in 3–1 up.

Yadwad Takes Chennaiyin Clear

East Bengal closed the gap two minutes after the restart. A handball by Muhammed Saheef gave the visitors a penalty, and Ramírez converted in the 47th minute to make it 3–2.

Yadwad scored just before the hour to restore Chennaiyin’s cushion. Tanque then set him up for his second in the 67th minute, stretching the lead to 5–2 and leaving East Bengal with three goals to find.

Hardik Bhatt supplied the assist for Lalhlansanga’s stoppage-time goal, but it came too late to threaten Chennaiyin’s first three points of the season. For Antonio Lopez Habas’s East Bengal, the defeat meant they had conceded five times in one match after allowing just one goal across their previous league fixtures.

With inputs from ANI