CAF Champions League Final: ES Tunis and Al Ahly play out lull draw

Esperance De Tunis — 4 time winners of the CAF Champions League — played out a lifeless 0-0 stalemate with record winners of the CAF Champions League, Al Ahly, at a sold out Stade Olympique Hammadi Aggrebi Stadium in the first leg of the CAF Champions League final yesterday.

Making their 5th successive final, a record in the CAF Champions League, Ahly were expected to bamboozle and dominate their Tunisian counterparts.

But in a game short of clear goal-scoring opportunities, neither side posed a real threat throughout the match, with the 20 shots racked up by both teams – 10 apiece – resulting in one shot at goal.

On the grandest occasion, the game lacked the needed quality as both sides delivered an attritional performance rather than attractive.

The atmosphere, however, stood out significantly as the deafening crowd chants and roars behind the home team anytime they got over the halfway line, got Esperance going.

Miguel Cardoso, Esperance’s coach and Ahly’s Marcell Koller, were animated figures in their respective dugout as the match took a more physical approach.

The two bookings dished out to both teams at the end of the game added gloss to the evenness on the night, as the two teams with the best defensive record in the competition held on for a draw.

Marcell Koller and Ahly go into the second leg with an advantage, playing at their beloved Cairo Stadium on May 25, 2024.

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Story by: Andrews Sefa Bamfo| univers.ug.edu.gh