India, Aug. 12 -- Trailing till the 90th minute, East Bengal produced a comeback for the ages to beat Kuwait Premier League runners-up Al Arabi SC 4-1 and make the main round of the AFC Champions League 2 here on Wednesday.

The 6-2 win against Iraq heavyweights Al-Zawraa in 1993 will remain the gold standard for East Bengal - even four years later it hurt, a member of the Iraq contingent at the Nehru Cup had said - in Asia but given their depleted squad and how close they were to being eliminated, this will surely come close. "The Asian Dream," screamed a tifo before kick-off. The Indian Super League (ISL) champions sure are living it.

"It will be the most important match in two years for East Bengal," skipper Basim Rashid had said. Wit...