Sunil Chhetri led former champions Bengaluru FC to a 1-0 win over East Bengal with his second-half strike that consolidated their position atop the standings in the I-League football at the Vidyasagar Krirangan, in Barasat, on Saturday.
Under pressure in the first-half when the home side missed a flurry of chances, Bengaluru turned it around with Chhetri's goal at the hour mark when he tapped the ball to the far post to register their first away win against the red-and-gold.
This was Bengaluru's fourth win from five matches as they went four points clear of East Bengal and Mumbai FC, against whom they had suffered their first defeat this season -- a 0-2 reverse in Mumbai on Wednesday.
For East Bengal, this was also their first defeat of the season and a big blow for their title aspiration with two draws and one loss from five matches.
Norde brace ensures comfortable away win for Bagan
Haitian winger Sony Norde struck on either side of the break as defending champions Mohun Bagan cruised to a 2-0 victory over 10-man DSK Shivajians in a fourth round encounter in Pune.
Norde struck in the 12th and 55th minute as the green and maroon brigade maintained their second position in the league table with 10 points from four games. Bengaluru FC are on top with 12 points from five matches.
The win will also boost the confidence of Sanjoy Sen's boys as they stand on the cusp of history after becoming the first Indian football club to play a Stage II qualifying round match of the AFC Champions League against Chinese Club Shandong Luneng FC in Chinese city of Jinan on February 2.
The Mariners drew first blood in the 12th minute when Katsumi Yusa's low corner was flicked by Raju Gaekwad towards Norde, who showed his poaching skills by slotting past veteran goalkeeper Subrata Paul to give his team the lead.
At half-time, the scoreline read 1-0 in favour of the away side.
The decisive strike came in the 55th minute when Norde breached the Shivajians' defence to take a crack from the edge of the box that beat Paul to make it 2-0.
If that wasn't bad enough, the home side were then down to 10 men as Lalhmangaihsaga Ralte got marching orders after receiving his second yellow card.
