August East Bengal FC started their campaign for the season on 3 August against
Army Red in the
2019 Durand Cup at the
East Bengal Ground and won by 2–0, with goals from
Jaime Santos Colado scoring from a freekick in the 85th minute and
Bidyashagar Singh tapping home from a
Samad Ali Mallick cross in the 91st minute.
East Bengal FC played
Jamshedpur FC (R) on 6th at the
East Bengal Ground in the next match in the
2019 Durand Cup and won by a convincing 6–0 margin, with
Jaime Santos Colado and
Bidyashagar Singh each scoring a brace and other two scored by
Pintu Mahata and
Boithang Haokip. Jaime Santos suffered an injury to his shoulder early in the first half and was taken off to avoid any risk.
East Bengal FC started off their
2019–20 Calcutta Premier Division campaign on 9 August against
George Telegraph S.C. at the
East Bengal Ground, however, they faced a set-back as the Red and Gold brigade lost by a solitary goal scored by Justice Morgan in the dying minutes of the injury time.
East Bengal FC fielded a rather weakened side, with 5 academy players in the starting eleven and just
Martí Crespí in the lineup.
East Bengal FC faced
Bengaluru FC next in the
2019 Durand Cup final Group A match on 14 August at the
Salt Lake Stadium to secure a spot in the Semi-Finals. The visitors went ahead early in the game with an opportunistic strike from striker
Ajay Chhetri. The Red and Gold brigade, however, rallied from behind in the second half with a brace from their academy graduate
Bidyashagar Singh to win it 2–1 and top the group stages and enter the semi-finals.
East Bengal FC were supposed to face BSS Sporting Club in the
2019–20 Calcutta Premier Division on 17 August however, the match was postponed since the Red and Gold brigade will be playing in the
2019 Durand Cup Semi-Final on 21 August, against the winners of Group D at the
Salt Lake Stadium.
East Bengal FC faced
Gokulam Kerala F.C. in the Semi-Finals of the
2019 Durand Cup and lost in the Penalty Shootouts by a 2–3 margin after the game ended 1–1 after 120 minutes.
Samad Ali Mallick scored the first goal for the Red and Gold brigade, however,
Marcus Joseph made no mistakes as he equalized for the visiting side in the dying minutes of the match after
Mehtab Singh conceded a penalty by pulling down
Henry Kisekka, resulting in the former being sent-off. 10 men East Bengal FC took the match to the tie-breakers but
Lalrindika Ralte,
Jaime Santos Colado and
Naorem Tondomba Singh missed from the spot as
Gokulam Kerala F.C. progressed into the final.
East Bengal FC played
Aryan F.C. next on 28 August in the Calcutta Football League at the
East Bengal Ground and won quite handsomely by a 3–0 margin with
Lalrindika Ralte opening the scoring in the 40th minute and
Jaime Santos Colado netting a brace in the second half. The Red and Gold brigade would have had a huge scoreline if not for the missed chances in the second half from
Bidyashagar Singh,
Samad Ali Mallick, Ronaldo Oliviera.
September East Bengal FC faced their arch-rivals
Mohun Bagan next on 1 September at the
Salt Lake Stadium in the first
Kolkata Derby of the season. Coach
Alejandro Menendez benched two top scorers
Jaime Santos Colado and
Bidyashagar Singh for the match, which ended in a goalless stalemate with both teams failing to break open the deadlock.
East Bengal FC faced
Southern Samity in the next match of the
2019–20 CFL on 5 September at the
East Bengal Ground and in a difficult underfoot conditions, emerged victorious by a 2–1 margin, with goals from academy graduate
Bidyashagar Singh and star-man
Jaime Santos Colado, both scoring their 7th goal of the season. Arjun Tudu reduced the margin for the visiting side but the Red and Gold brigade held onto the lead. East Bengal now has 10 points from 5 matches in the Calcutta Football League.
East Bengal FC faced
Peerless SC in the next match of the
2019–20 CFL on 9 September at the
East Bengal Ground and in a very hard-fought match, lost 0–1 courtesy of a penalty goal from
Ansumana Kromah in the 65th minute.
Marcos de la Espada's header hit the goalpost in the first half while
Brandon Vanlalremdika and substitute
Jaime Santos Colado failed to convert their chances as the Red and Gold brigade failed to take any point from the game.
East Bengal FC players and support staff were penalised by the
IFA governing body for the after-match incident with the match referee. Captain
Lalrindika Ralte and
Mehtab Singh were both handed a match ban and 1 lakh Rupees fine, while team manager Debraj Chowdhury and goalkeeper coach
Abhra Mondal were handed a year-long ban from all IFA competitions.
East Bengal FC faced
Kalighat MS in the next match of the
2019–20 CFL on 12 September at the
East Bengal Ground. After conceding a goal early in the 27th minute against the run of play, the Red and Gold brigade rallied from behind to score 3 goals, with
Bidyashagar Singh equalizing in the first half then
Pintu Mahata's shot deflected into the net off Lassine and then
Jaime Santos Colado increasing the lead. Kalighat MS reduced the margin in the 82nd min to make the scoreline 3–2 but East Bengal team was fast to react as Jaime Santos scored again within a minute to take full 3 points from the match. East Bengal now stands 3rd in the table with 13 points of 7 matches.
East Bengal FC appealed to the
IFA for the suspension of Manager and Goalkeeper coach and IFA has reduced the penalty of the duo as well as for the players. Manager Debraj Chowdhury and Goal Keeper coach
Abhra Mondal are now just fined 75 thousand and their suspension is lifted, players
Lalrindika Ralte and
Mehtab Singh's fines are also reduced to 75 thousand from 1 lakh Rupees.
East Bengal FC faced
Bhawanipore F.C. in the next match of the
2019–20 CFL on 16 September at the
Kalyani Stadium and in a tense game, the Red and Gold brigade twice went ahead, however, both times nullified by Bhawanipur to end 2–2.
Pintu Mahata scored the opener early in the 7th minute to take a 1–0 advantage at HT.
Kamo Stephane Bayi equalised for the visitors.
Borja Gomez Perez again put East Bengal ahead in the 83rd min however again Jagannath Sana equalised just a minute later.
East Bengal FC faced
NBP Rainbow AC in the next match of the
2019–20 CFL on 20 September at the
East Bengal Ground and managed to edge past by a solitary goal by
Marcos de la Espada from the penalty spot in the 35th minute.
Samad Ali Mallick was adjudged the Man of the Match for his brilliant display down the right-wing.
East Bengal FC faced their rivals
Mohammedan Sporting in the next match of the
2019–20 CFL on 26 September at the
Salt Lake Stadium and in a potential title decided the Red and Gold brigade edged past the Black Panthers by 3–2 scoreline. East Bengal took the lead early as
Pintu Mahata headed home brilliantly from a cross from
Kamalpreet Singh in the 12th minute. Mohammedan Sporting was quick to react as they equalised in the 23rd min as
Borja Gomez Perez deflected the ball into his own net from a setpiece movement. In the 43rd min, East Bengal won a penalty after Shaiful Rahman stopped the ball with his hand as it was going into the goal, hence getting a red card in the process;
Jaime Santos Colado did no mistake in scoring from the spot to take a 2–1 lead at HT. East Bengal increased the lead in the second half as
Marcos de la Espada tapped in from close range from a
Lalrindika Ralte cross to make it 3–1. The men in Black and White did surge for a comeback with 10 men as they reduced the margin in the 83rd min as
Arthur Kouassi scored. However, East Bengal held onto the lead and kept their title hopes alive with 20 points from 10 matches with a game to go.
East Bengal FC was supposed to face Calcutta Customs in the last match of the
2019–20 CFL on 29 September at the
East Bengal Ground however the match was abandoned due to unplayable conditions due to heavy rainfall, which caused water-clogging inside the playing arena. The match was rescheduled on 3 October at the
Kalyani Stadium however
East Bengal FC did not show up and Customs were given a Walkover.
November East Bengal FC had their pre-season for the
2019–20 I-League in October, after they withdrew from the
2019 Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup. The Red and Gold brigade decided to play a set of pre-season friendlies against ISL sides before the start of the I-League.
East Bengal FC played a friendly against
2018–19 Indian Super League Champions
Bengaluru FC on 6 November at
Bengaluru which ended 1–1.
Marcos de la Espada opened the scoring early in the 4th minute, however,
Edmund Lalrindika equalized for the home side from a long-range effort early in the second half to end the game in a stalemate.
East Bengal FC played their second pre-season friendly against another
ISL opponent,
NorthEast United FC on 16 November, at
Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in
Guwahati which ended in a goalless draw.
East Bengal FC played their third and final pre-season friendly against
Indian Super League side
Jamshedpur FC on 21 November, at the JFC Training Ground in
Jamshedpur where they defeated the ISL team by 2–0 courtesy of goals from
Abhijit Sarkar and
Jaime Santos Colado to end their pre-season campaign before the start of the
2019–20 I-League.
December East Bengal FC began their
2019–20 I-League campaign against
Real Kashmir F.C. on 4 December at the
Kalyani Stadium. The match ended up 1–1 draw.
Marcos de la Espada scored on behalf of East Bengal, and Juan Mera Gonzalez became Hero of the match.
East Bengal FC travelled to
Ludhiana to face-off with
Punjab FC on 7 December for their second match of the campaign and failed to win again as the match ended 1–1 draw.
Juan Mera González scored the equaliser in the 85th min to avoid the defeat.
East Bengal FC travelled to
Imphal for their third match of the
2019–20 I-League as they faced
NEROCA F.C. on 10 December. The Red and Gold brigade managed to grab their first win of the campaign as the match ended 4–1 in favour of East Bengal.
Jaime Santos Colado scored a brace while
Juan Mera González and
Marcos de la Espada scored the other two.
East Bengal FC faced
TRAU F.C. next on 14 December at the
Kalyani Stadium and in a close game, managed to grab all 3 points as the Red and Golds won 2–1 with goals from
Marcos de la Espada in the 17th minute and
Marti Crespi in the 89th minute.
Deepak Devrani had equalized for the away side in the 45th minute.
East Bengal FC were supposed face their arch-rivals
Mohun Bagan in the first
Kolkata Derby of the
2019–20 I-League next on 22 December at the
Salt Lake Stadium however the match was postponed citing security concerns by the police and home team
Mohun Bagan.
January East Bengal FC will faced
Churchill Brothers away on 4 January at the
Fatorda Stadium and lost courtesy of a solitary goal in the 89th minute from
Willis Plaza. This was the first defeat of the campaign for the Red and Gold brigade. On 8 January,
East Bengal F.C. announced the signing of
Abhash Thapa on loan from
ISL side
Hyderabad FC for the remainder of the season. On 14 January,
East Bengal F.C. announced their second winter transfer signing as they hired
Bengaluru F.C. attacking midfielder
Edmund Lalrindika on loan for the rest of the season.
East Bengal FC faced
Gokulam Kerala F.C. at home on 15 January at the
Kalyani Stadium and suffered their second defeat of the
2019–20 I-League campaign as they lost 3–1 to the Malabarians.
Henry Kisekka,
Marcus Joseph scored two while
Marti Crespi scored an own goal as the visitors won the game.
Kassim Aidara scored the only goal for the Red and Golds.
East Bengal FC faced arch-rivals
Mohun Bagan on 19 January at the
Salt Lake Stadium in the
Kolkata Derby and faced their third defeat in a row as the Green and Maroons snatched a hard-fought 2–1 victory over the Red and Gold brigade.
Joseba Beitia opened the scoring for the Mariners in the 18th minute.
Baba Diawara increased the lead in the 62nd minute.
Marcos de la Espada reduced the margin for East Bengal in the 72nd minute, however, they could find an equaliser with
Juan Mera's shot hitting the crossbar was the closest East Bengal got. On 21 January, just 2 days after the
Kolkata Derby defeat,
East Bengal FC announced that coach
Alejandro Menendez had resigned from his position for personal reasons and taking responsibility if the poor performance of the team. The new coach will be announced within a few days. On 22 January, the
East Bengal FC management announced a double signing: Liberian striker
Ansumana Kromah and
Monotosh Chakladar for the remainder of the season.
Mario Rivera Campesino was appointed the new head coach on 23 January, a few hours later Alejandro Menendez left the city. Mario worked with the club in the previous season as the assistant coach and video analyst.
East Bengal FC faced defending champions
Chennai City F.C. on 25 January at Coimbatore and finally came back to winning ways with a 2–0 win courtesy of a goal each from
Marcos de la Espada and
Jaime Santos Colado who scored from the spot. This was the first clean sheet the Red and Gold Brigade achieved in the
2019–20 I-League campaign.
February East Bengal FC faced
Indian Arrows on 1 February at the
Kalyani Stadium in the next match and lost by 1–0, courtesy of a solitary goal by
Vikram Pratap Singh in the 58th minute.
East Bengal FC played
Aizawl F.C. next on 7 February at the
Kalyani Stadium and lost once again by a solitary goal from Matias Veron in the 76th minute. This was their 5th defeat in 6 matches in the
2019–20 I-League campaign. On 12 February,
East Bengal FC announced the signing of Spanish defensive midfielder
Víctor Pérez Alonso for the remainder of the season.
East Bengal FC faced
Punjab F.C. next on 13 February at the
Kalyani Stadium and in an intensely fought game managed to share points after the game ended in a 1–1 draw.
Ansumana Kromah gave the lead for the Red and Gold brigade in the 9th minute with a long-range effort while
Girik Khosla equalised for the visiting team in the 42nd minute to share the points.
East Bengal FC faced
Indian Arrows next on 17 February at the
Cooperage Ground in
Mumbai and got back to winning ways with a 3–1 win courtesy of goals from
Jaime Santos Colado in the 6th minute,
Asheer Akhtar in the 62nd minute and
Lalrindika Ralte in the 67th minute.
Vikram Pratap Singh did equalize for the home team in the 54th minute before Asheer and Didika struck the two goals and secure the win.
East Bengal FC travelled to
Imphal to face
TRAU F.C. next on 23 January at the
Khuman Lampak Main Stadium and won their second game in succession after a brilliant second half display to rally from behind to win 4–2. Princewell Emeka scored the opener for the home side in the 18th minute. East Bengal FC scored 4 goals in the second half courtesy of 4 different scorers:
Jaime Santos Colado,
Kassim Aidara,
Brandon Vanlalremdika and
Marcos de la Espada.
Oguchi Uche reduced the margin for the home side in the 86th minute.
East Bengal FC faced
Churchill Brothers S.C. next on 29 February at the
Salt Lake Stadium and in a fiercely competitive match managed to share points with a dying minute equalizer goal from
Jaime Santos Colado to make it 1–1.
Willis Plaza scored the opening goal of the match in the 10th minute for Churchill Brothers.
March East Bengal FC travelled to
Kozhikode next to face
Gokulam Kerala F.C. next on 3 March and drew 1–1 plying more than 35 mins against 10-men Gokulam Kerala FC side.
Marcus Joseph opened the scoring in the 9th minute for the home side while
Víctor Pérez Alonso equalised from the spot after
Juan Mera was brought down in the 24th minute. Naocha Huidrom Singh was shown marching orders in the 49th minute for his second booking. Juan Mera and Victor Perez both struck the bar in the second half but could not find the winning goal as both teams shared the points.
East Bengal FC signed back Costa Rican World Cup star and former defender
Jhonny Acosta ahead of the game against
Real Kashmir FC and released Liberian striker
Ansumana Kromah to make way for him.
East Bengal FC continued their travel to
Srinagar next as they faced
Real Kashmir F.C. on 9 March at the
TRC Turf Ground and won by a solitary penalty goal in the dying minutes of the injury time by
Víctor Pérez Alonso to snatch all 3 points and move up to the 2nd place in the league table. The game was ill-tempered and Real Kashmir FC had 3 players sent-off in the match while
Edmund Lalrindika of Quess East Bengal FC was also given marching orders in the last seconds of the game which means he will miss the all-important
Kolkata Derby next.
East Bengal FC was supposed to face arch-rivals
Mohun Bagan in the second leg of the
Kolkata Derby next on 15 March at the
Salt Lake Stadium however due to the outbreak of
COVID-19, all matches of the
2019–20 I-League has been suspended till 14 April until further notice. The revised schedule will be announced later.
April On 18 April, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the
All India Football Federation announced that the remaining matches of
2019–20 I-League will be cancelled and
Mohun Bagan was awarded as the champions. No team was relegated, and the remaining prize money (apart from the champion's prize money) was equally divided among the 10 teams. On 26 April,
East Bengal FC's prime investors
Quess Corp announced they will be parting ways with the club after 30 April, owing to the
COVID-19 pandemic, applying the "Force Majeure Clause". ==Competitions==