Defending champions Al Ahly beat North African rivals Esperance Sportive de Tunis (ES Tunis) 1-0 at the Cairo International Stadium on Saturday to retain their CAF Champions League title.
The Egyptians, who were held to a goalless draw in the first leg, won the second leg by a lone goal thanks to an own goal in the fourth minute by ES Tunis midfielder Roger Aholou.
Game sealed! @AlAhly snatch the win from ES Tunis by one goal. ⚽#TotalEnergiesCAFCL | #FinalCairo | #AFCEST pic.twitter.com/Vj1nzQ7hjb
— TotalEnergiesCAFCL & TotalEnergiesCAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) May 25, 2024
Al Ahly, the competition’s most successful team, claimed their record-extending 12th CAF Champions League title, marking their fourth title in five years.
Following a header from Egyptian defender Ramy Moustafa, the ball hit the inside of Aholou, who had little to no idea, before beating 20-year-old Amenallah Memmiche in goal for Esperance.
Esperance almost got on the score sheet through Houssem Tka, but his low strike, which was inches wide, failed to trouble Al Ahly’s goalkeeper, Mostafa Shobeir.
Likewise, the Brazilian duo of Rodrigo Silva and Yan Sasse almost combined to open the scoring for Esperance, but the latter’s curling effort failed to hit the target.
𝑻𝑾𝑬𝑳𝑽𝑬 𝑻𝑰𝑴𝑬𝑺. 👑
🇪🇬 @AlAhly are the #TotalEnergiesCAFCL champions. ONCE MORE! 🏆#FinalCairo pic.twitter.com/ycOyEYJ0Gy
— TotalEnergiesCAFCL & TotalEnergiesCAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) May 25, 2024
The home side weren’t devoid of chances either, as Al Ahly almost doubled their lead, but Emam Ashour’s solo effort after beating two of his markers was parried away by Memmiche.
The Egyptians kept probing, and they were almost rewarded by Mohamed Magdy, who came on as an 87th-minute substitute, but his brilliantly struck free kick came off the bar to keep it at just one-nil.
