Al Ahly, Africa’s most decorated club, secured their 12th Total Energies CAF Champions League title with a 1-0 win over Tunisia’s Esperance Sportive De Tunis in the second leg of the final on Saturday at the Cairo International Sports Stadium.
ES Tunis managed to hold Al Ahly to a goalless draw in the first leg of the final at home, but they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat in the away leg. Notably, Esperance Sportive de Tunis has won the CAF Champions League four times, with their most recent victory in the 2019 season.
The Tunisian club were unlucky as Togolese International Roger Aholou put the ball into his net just 4 minutes into the game, while attempting to clear the ball from his goal area following a corner kick from the opposing team, Aholou miskicked and sent it into his net.
Yan Sasse of ES Tunis had the chance to level the scoreline for his team in the 62nd minute but failed to make good use of a chance that fell to him at the edge of the opponent’s goal area when he slipped as the ball went out of play. In the 89th minute, Al Ahly’s Afsha came close to doubling his team’s lead, but his shot struck the up-right.
There were 5 minutes of added-on time after the 90 minutes were exhausted but none of the sides managed to score a goal as Al Ahly clinched their fourth consecutive CAF Champions League trophy in history. Despite Esperance Sportive De Tunis dominating possession with 59%, Al Ahly emerged victorious with 41% possession.
Al Ahly Coach Marcell Kohler has now guided his team to back-to-back CAF Champions League trophies since signing a two-year deal with the club in 2022.
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Story by: David Kwaku Dzaku| univers.ug.edu.gh
