Dempo made a spectacular second half comeback to demolish Mohun Bagan 4-1 in a round 23 I-League match at Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Wednesday.
The win meant Dempo, who now have 47 points from 23 matches, are tantalisingly close to their fourth title in the national championship.
In two contrasting performances, Mohun Bagan dominated the first-half with a NS Manju strike early in the seventh minute as the leaders looked out of sorts, both in the mid-field and forward.
But the Goans turned the table in a scintillating fashion after the breather and pumped in four goals in a space of 20 minutes to shatter Mohun Bagan's hopes.
Man-of-the-Match Beto scored two goals (47th, 64th), while Ranti Martins (54th) and Joacquim Abranches (60th) found the net once to complete the humiliation for the home team.
Dempo goalkeeper Abhijit Mondal stood tall in front of the bar in the first half. India international Manju helped Mohun Bagan go 1-0 up in a splendid fashion when he scored from a Marcos Pereira corner early on.
All charged-up, Mohun Bagan got a fine opportunity in the 20th minute when Chidi beat the Dempo defence and took the shot which was deflected out by custodian Mondal.
Pune FC dent Mahindra United's title hopes
Meanwhile, Arataizumi's second half goal put paid to Mahindra United's title hopes as Pune FC secured a 1-1
draw against the home team at the Cooperage Ground.
Arata's goal in the 58th minute restored parity for the visitors after Steven Dias had scored for Mahindra in the 39th minute.
With this draw, Mahindra have 38 points from 23 matches while the visitors have 32 points from 22 outings.
