Defending champion Chennai City FC stopped the winning run of Mohun Bagan, holding it to a 1-1 draw in an I-League fixture at the Kalyani Stadium here on Thursday.
Senegalese striker Babacar Diawara put the host ahead in the final minute of the first half, but the visitors made a spirited comeback after the break, finding the equaliser through Japanese playmaker Katsumi Yusa.
Chennai City, which had lost its first leg outing 3-2 against Bagan in Coimbatore, put up a much-improved performance to share the honours with the current leader in its own den.
The draw, after seven successive wins, prolonged Bagan’s wait for the title.
Bagan, which has 36 points from 15 matches, is 13 points clear of its nearest challenger — Punjab FC — which has 23 from 15 games.
On the attack
Making its intentions clear right from the beginning, Chennai City successfully thwarted Bagan’s attacking plans.
The visitors toiled hard and created quite a few chances in the opening session, but failed to convert them.
The visitors could have easily found the lead early on in the opening session as Yusa ran amok and came up with three clear chances in the opening 30 minutes.
But the opportunities went abegging as Spanish striker Adolfo Miranda (twice) and Jockson Dhas failed to find the target.
It was Bagan which went ahead in the final minute of the first half. Diawara put the finishing touches on an assist from Nongdamba Naorem, who was set free after Chennai City defender Rohit Mirza failed to clear a long-floater from Francisco Morante in the Bagan half.
The visitors continued to press for a goal after the break and reaped the rewards of hard work in the 67th minute when Yusa converted.
A superb cross from Jockson set the Japanese who poked home a grounder.
The result:
Mohun Bagan 1 (Babacar Diawara 45) drew with Chennai City FC 1 (Katsumi Yusa 67).
