Al-Ahly’s match against Esperance of Tunisia in the first leg of the final round of the African Champions League, which was held at Rades Olympic Stadium, ended in a goalless draw, and it is certainly a positive result for the Cairo team, which will play the return match at Cairo Stadium in front of its fans.
The red team received a difficult start during the match, after the club received a strong blow with the injury of Ali Maaloul at the beginning of the first half, specifically in the 8th minute of the match. The Tunisian was unable to complete the match, as he left the field and Karim Fouad participated as his replacement.
The Tunisian Esperance players created several attacking opportunities against Mustafa Schubert’s goal, trying to score the first goal in the match, but to no avail. In the second half of the match, Al-Ahly team succeeded in regaining control of the ball, as it largely controlled the course of the match in order to score the first goal.
The performance between the two teams continued at the same level, until the referee blew the whistle, ending the first leg of the African Champions League final for the current season in a goalless draw, so the decision was postponed until the second leg.
The decision will be postponed until next Saturday when they face off again in Cairo, where Al-Ahly is searching for its fourth title in the last five editions and the record twelfth in its history, while Esperance is chasing its fifth title and first since 2019.
The final between the Egyptian and Tunisian giants will be repeated for the third time, after 2012, when the “Red Devils” team won 3-2 on aggregate, and in 2018, when the “Bab Souika” team overturned a 1-3 deficit in Cairo and won in Rades 3-0 to win its third title.
Al-Ahly is competing in the final for the fifth time in a row (a record) and the seventeenth in its history, proving its specialization in the continental competition.
. .