East Bengal retained their star striker Willis Deon Plaza and brought in I League winning Midfielder Mahmoud Amnah from Aizawl FC.
East Bengal also roped in 3 more players from Aizawl FC, wingers Brandon Vanlalremdika, Laldanmawia Ralte and Left Back Lalramchullova.
The Red and Gold Brigade are hoping to seal the Calcutta Football League championship and set an octa-title record of winning it for the 8th consecutive year.
Last updated: 28 January 2018Source: East Bengal First team [usurped] The 7 times defending champions started the Calcutta Football League campaign in style as they defeated the newly promoted side Rainbow FC 4–1 with V P Suhair scoring a hat-trick on his debut, thus becoming the 4th East Bengal player after Ashim Moulick (1963), Shyam Thapa (1966) and Bikash Narzinary (2010) to score a hat-trick on debut.
Mohun Bagan drew 2–2 in the derby which helped East Bengal secure their 8th consecutive league win via Goal Difference as both teams were on 23 points from 9 games.
East Bengal also roped in defensive midfielder Armand Bazzie from Rainbow FC after impressing coach Khalid Jamil in trails.
Armand Bazzie gained a lot of praise in the preseason games, while Mahmoud Amnah and Katsumi Yusa formed a formidable pair which is providing hopes for Red and Gold fans for the upcoming I League, which East Bengal has not won since 2004.
East Bengal lost the first I League Kolkata Derby of the season by a 1–0 margin after Mohun Bagan defender Eze Kingsley scored the solitary goal in the 39th minute from a Sony Norde corner.
East Bengal thumped Shillong Lajong to a 5–1 victory with a brace from ex Aizawl FC man Laldanmawia Ralte and one each Mahmoud Amnah, Eduardo Ferreira and Katsumi Yusa.
East Bengal managed to grab hold of the lead which earned them important 3 points and took them to the top of the table via goal difference to Minerva Punjab FC who lost earlier the same day.
East Bengal faced Indian Arrows away at Delhi on 2 January next and fielded a squad without start man Willis Plaza who carried an injury from the last game against NEROCA FC.
East Bengal faced Churchill Brothers away at Tilak Maidan in Goa on 8 January next and dropped 2 valuable points after drawing 1–1 against the bottom-placed side in the league table.
He was replaced by Dudu Omagbemi who joined for his second stint for the Red and Golds after 2014–15 Season where he scored 20 goals for East Bengal in all competitions.
East Bengal faced Mohun Bagan for the second Kolkata Derby of the I League on 21 January at the Salt Lake Stadium next and lost by a 2–0 margin with Dipanda Dicka netting a brace.
East Bengal released their foreign import Willis Plaza after a series of poor performances and lack of goals from the star forward who was also carrying a thigh injury along.
East Bengal faced Indian Arrows on 4 February at the Barasat Stadium next where after a frustrating performance by the Red and Gold front line, East Bengal managed to score in the dying minute of the match, when Dudu Omagbemi found the net from a glancing header in the 93rd minute, taking a 1–0 lead, ensuring 3 points for the Red and Golds who now sits 3rd in the table with 23 points from 13 games, with 5 more to go.
on 13 February at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula next and in a do-or-die game against the league leaders East Bengal managed a 1–0 win with a sublime strike from Cavin Lobo in the 60th minute.
East Bengal roped in Uganda national football team Defensive Midfield player Khalid Aucho as a replacement for 'Armand Bazie'.
on 17 February at the EMS Stadium in Kozhikode next and lost 2–1 to the home side after leading 1–0 at Half-time courtesy of a spot-kick from Katsumi Yusa in the injury time before the break.
East Bengal faced Chennai City FC on 24 February at the Salt Lake Stadium next and in a do-or-die game, the Red and Gold brigade ran riot against the southerners and clinched an all-important 7–1 win.
East Bengal faced Shillong Lajong on 5 March at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium next and in a must-win game the Red and Gold Brigade again drew 2–2 to seriously hamper their title aspirations.
The ISL side took the lead early in the first half from a sublime free kick from their foreign import Achille Emaná in the 22nd minute of the game.
The Red and Gold brigade bounced back and equalized within 4 minutes when star man Katsumi Yusa headed in an inch-perfect cross by Laldanmawia Ralte from the right.
East Bengal rallied back in the second half when Mahmoud Amnah scored the winner in the 73rd minute with a perfect volley to win it 2–1.
on 8 April 2018 at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar in the Quarter-finals of the 2018 Indian Super Cup and in adverse hot and humid conditions, the Red and Gold brigade managed to snatch a 1–0 win against the Highlanders with an injury-time spot kick by ex Aizawl F.C.
Supplier: PERF / Sponsors: Kingfisher Premium / Co-Sponsor: Shyam Steel Last updated: 20 April 2018 Source: Competitions Note: 1=These teams got walkover against Southern Samity and they got 3 point each.