Johannesburg (AFP) – Title holders Al Ahly of Egypt and long-time rivals Esperance of Tunisia will meet in the two-legged CAF Champions League final in May.
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Ahly beat TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo 3-0 in Cairo to clinch a semi-final on the same aggregate score after a goalless first leg last Saturday.
Esperance came under constant pressure from South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in Pretoria before grabbing a 1-0 win to advance 2-0 on aggregate after also winning 1-0 at home.
Mohamed Abdelmonem, Wessam Abou Ali and Akram Tawfiq scored in the second half for Ahli, who are seeking a record-extending 12th victory in Africa’s top club competition.
Raed Bouchniba came off the bench to score 12 minutes into the second half against Sundowns in a match that lasted 190 minutes after a storm stopped play midway through the first half.
It will be the third time that Ahly and Esperance have met in the Champions League final with the Egyptians winning in 2012 and the Tunisians in 2018.
They also clashed in the semi-finals last season with Ahly winning home and away for a 4-0 aggregate triumph.
Both teams have booked final places after 11 clean sheets in 12 qualifying, group and knockout matches.
Esperance, who are chasing a fifth Champions League title, will host the first leg at Rades on the outskirts of Tunis on May 18 with the second leg in Cairo seven days later.
Sundowns had their chances against Esperance with Peter Shalulile and Aubrey Modiba hitting the woodwork and Namibia captain Shalulile going close several times.
But the first time Esperance threatened to score, they did so as a counter-attack ended with Buhniba running into the area and firing past goalkeeper Ronwen Williams into the far corner.
Since their only Champions League title in 2016, Sundowns have reached the semi-finals three times and lost to North African opposition on each occasion.
In Cairo, Joel Beya had a goal for Mazembe early in the second half disallowed before Abdelmonem’s powerful header from a corner broke the deadlock in the 68th minute.
A superb cross from veteran Tunisian defender Ali Maaloul was headed into the net by Abou Ali on 83 minutes for his first goal of the African campaign.
Tawfik scored 12 minutes into added time, cutting through and slotting the ball past Senegalese goalkeeper Alioune Faty into the far corner.
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