Amir Dervisevic (20') gave SC East Bengal an early lead against the run of play with a brilliant free-kick but Bartholomew Ogbeche (35') scored with a header to bring the match level.
NEUFC's evening started on a negative note as they lost Hernan Santana to injury during the warm-up. The first 30-minutes of the game did not have any clear scoring opportunities as both teams cancelled each other out.
CFC moved to the top spot with seven points from three games after the drawn game while East Bengal were placed ninth with two points after four matches.
In a scintillating display, ATK Mohun Bagan scored through Roy Krishna (12th minute), Manvir Singh (14th) and Liston Colaco (23rd) as they did not allow SCEB the breathing space to make it three out of three in their ISL exchanges.
The Red and Gold Brigade couldn't make much of an impact in their inaugural season and would be eyeing three points to kick-start their ISL 2022 campaign with a win against the Red Miners, who too could not make it to the top-four last season, finishing sixth.
With "no clarity" about SC East Bengal's participation in the 14-team tournament slated to begin in August third week, IFA secretary Joydeep Mukherjee said as per the rulebook the red-and-gold brigade would be relegated to the lower division.
Carles Cuadrat, who had guided Bengaluru to the title in 2018-19 season, was shown the door due to their disastrous performance this year with Moosa taking over the reins.
East Bengal launched their home, away and third kit for the 2020-21 ISL season.
Mohun Bagan's merger with ATK meant that the Indian Super League is likely to miss out on the fever-pitched Kolkata derby, as their arch-rivals East Bengal are almost certain to remain in the second-rung I-League for the upcoming season.
All clubs, including East Bengal, have to sign the agreement and send it back to AIFF in the next 10 days to be part of the 2020-2021 licensing criteria
The development came after the Sports Ministry's advisory to all national federations to follow the Health Ministry's advisory and avoid large gatherings in sports events.
Ganguly feels ATK and Mohun Bagan coming together to play in the ISL from next season is a positive step forward in Indian football and expressed his desire to see East Bengal follow the trend
The victory saw Mohun Bagan extend their lead at the top while East Bengal remained in sixth position.
The derby was postponed owing to the fragile political situation in the state. It was originally slated to take place on December 22.
ISL side ATK, on Thursday acquired 80 per cent stake in Mohun Bagan which will be rechristened as ATK-Mohun Bagan and will compete as one team from ISL 2020-21.
Four Manchester United officials visited the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday to check on the infrastructure, and were left impressed
Chennai City came from behind and got the better of Minerva Punjab 3-1 on the final day of the I-League and won the league by a margin of one point.
East Bengal said they will travel to Srinagar for their match against Real Kashmir on February 28 if "forced" to do so by the AIFF.
East Bengal's Kerala players are in a state of distress, panicky about the well being of their folks back home, who have been hit by worst ever flood in a century.
Eight clubs - Aizawl FC, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Bengaluru FC, Shillong Lajong FC, Churchill Brothers, Chennai City FC and Minerva Punjab FC - applied for the AFC and National Licenses for the season 2017-18.
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