Kolkata: East Bengal's 10-man team pulled off a stunning 3-3 draw against Bengaluru FC in a thrilling encounter.
Thrice they trailed, but thrice they came back, with Anton Sjoberg scoring the equaliser in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time.
East Bengal had played with 10 men for 73 minutes after Miguel Ferreira's early red card, but they managed to hold on to a point that felt like three.
The draw took East Bengal to 15 points, three behind ISL12 leaders Mumbai City FC, and in third place after eight rounds.
Bengaluru FC too have 15 points but are fourth having played a game more.
An even contest turned on its head when Ferreira saw red after a foul, and the match was then 25 minutes old.
East Bengal switched to a back five and retreated into a low block, but they returned with renewed vigour using Edmund Lalrindika and Bipin Singh as wide outlets.
They fought for every ball and made it 2-2 in the 55th minute through a superb drive from Saul Crespo.
Crespo's first drive was repulsed by Chinglensana Singh, but he changed direction and the shot screamed into the bottom corner of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu's goal.
Sojberg's late goal was the final equaliser, and it was a fitting end to a match that began with Ashique Kuruniyan scoring with a banger off his weak right foot in the 12th minute.
