Super Cup 2025-26: Mohun Bagan aims for semi-final spot; East Bengal are chasing momentum ahead of the Kolkata derby

Indian Super League (ISL) champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s trophy aspirations had hit a roadblock earlier this season. They were unceremoniously knocked out by East Bengal in the Durand Cup and subsequently withdrew from the AFC Champions League two, leading to an outcry from the fan clubs.

But Bagan weathered the storm and reached the safe haven, winning silverware, the IFA Shield, in Calcutta in October.

Now, with a 2-0 win over Chennaiyin FC in their 2025/26 AIFF Super Cup opener, the Mariners will hope to weather the storm in Goan waters and take on Dempo SC in their next match at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (PJN) Stadium on Tuesday.

Bagan’s squad is packed with stars, including World Cup players Jamie Maclaren and Jason Cummings, with the latter both scoring goals in Bagan’s previous match.

Coach Jose Molina could be faced with the conundrum of either starting with both, or replacing one with Brazilian creative midfielder Robson Robinho as number 10, to combine with Manvir Singh and Liston Colaco – down either flank – just behind a lone striker.

Bagan’s next opponents, Dempo SC, stunned East Bengal – the 2024 Super Cup champions – in the tournament opener with a 2-2 draw. A three-time national champion, Dempo has been a shadow of its past since retiring from the I-League in 2016, but with an I-League promotion last year, it looks set to continue its rise.

The last time the senior teams of Dempo and Bagan clashed in Goa, the match had ended 1-1, marking the end of head coach Arthur Papas’ reign in charge of the Golden Eagles.

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This time, the Goan side, led by coach and club legend Samir Naik, is expecting a different story.

A win against Dempo will secure Bagan’s spot in the semi-finals should East Bengal and Chennaiyin drop points in the earlier match at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim.

Time for Bruzon to make it count

Oscar Bruzon offered new hope to East Bengal as the side reached a semi-final and a final this season – the Durand Cup and the IFA Shield.

But the Red and Gold Brigade has often succumbed to a battle of nerves: a loss to lower division Diamond Harbor in the Durand Cup semi-final and a penalty shootout defeat to Bagan in the IFA Shield.

Conceding late goals was also Bruzon’s Achilles heel, whether it was Diamond Harbor’s 87th-minute winner, or Dempo’s late 89th-minute equalizer in his last match in the Super Cup.

The Spaniard will look to resolve these issues before it is too late, and will also hope to unite a divided dressing room that saw goalkeeping coach Sandip Nandy resign following the final IFA Shield defeat.

Bruzon’s first away win as East Bengal coach in the ISL came against Chennaiyin, and he will expect to repeat that success to keep semi-final hopes alive before the Kolkata derby on October 31.

To qualify for the Super Cup semi-finals, East Bengal will have to win this match and hope that Bagan drops points against Dempo – a scenario that will make the Kolkata derby a do-or-die match for both sides.

If East Bengal and Bagan both win, the former will go into the derby needing a win, while a draw for the Mariners would be enough for a place in the last four.

On the other hand, Chennaiyin, with an all-Indian squad, will be hoping that Clifford Miranda can breathe some life into the Bagan-battered team.

Under Miranda, Odisha had won its first-ever trophy, the Super Cup, two years ago and the Goans will look to recreate that fairytale on home soil.

Published on October 27, 2025