Egypt’s Al Ahly secured a historic 12th African Champions League title, edging past Esperance with a 1-0 victory in the second leg of the final held in Cairo. The aggregate win came after a goalless draw in the first leg in Tunisia.
The decisive moment arrived early in the match when Al Ahly’s Rami Rabia headed a corner from Hussein El Shahat, which inadvertently deflected off Esperance midfielder Roger Aholou into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
Al Ahly had additional opportunities to widen the scoreline before halftime, with Wessam Abou Ali hitting the side-netting and Percy Tau shooting narrowly wide. El Shahat himself was thwarted by Esperance goalkeeper Amanallah Memmiche.
In the second half, Esperance’s Yan Sasse missed a chance to equalize, and the Tunisian side found it challenging to penetrate Al Ahly’s staunch defense. In the dying minutes, Al Ahly substitute Afsha’s free-kick struck the crossbar, nearly doubling the lead.
The game concluded with Al Ahly maintaining their slim lead through six minutes of added time, culminating in a 1-0 aggregate victory and their fourth title in five years. Under the guidance of Marcel Koller, Al Ahly went unbeaten throughout the tournament, echoing their 2005 team’s achievement, with goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir achieving nine consecutive clean sheets.
This victory extends Al Ahly’s unbeaten streak in continental competitions to 22 games and marks their fourth back-to-back Champions League title. Both Al Ahly and Esperance have qualified for next year’s FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, ensuring their participation in the expanded 32-team tournament alongside Wydad Casablanca and Mamelodi Sundowns.
