By Victor Kanayo
Two North African football clubs – Al Ahly of Egypt and Esperance of Tunisia will face each other in the final of this season’s CAF Champions League final.
This was after both sides won their semi-final matches at the weekend.
Esperance host the first leg of the final on May 18 with the return in Cairo seven days later.
How They Conquered In Last Four Stage
Defending champions Al Ahly, who have won five of the last seven editions and a record 11 in total, overcame TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Cairo and Esperance pulled off a surprise 1-0 win over South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns in Pretoria.
Al Ahly won 3-0 after a goalless draw in the first leg in Lubumbashi for a comfortable aggregate triumph while Esperance’s 20-year-old defender Raed Bouchniba hammered home a clinical shot in the 57th minute to earn the Tunisians a 1-0 away win and 2-0 aggregate victory.
Sundowns won the new African Football League this season and were one of the favourites for the Champions League but fell short of the final for an eighth season in a row.
Esperance’s 20-year-old goalkeeper Amanallah Memmich produced fine saves as the South African forwards fluffed their lines and the win also ensured a place for Esperance in next year’s Club World Cup in the U.S.
Esperance won the last of their four Champions League titles in 2019 and have been runners-up four times.
