Pyramids stay perfect as Al Ahly win Cairo derby to close gap at the top

Pyramids remain top of the Egyptian Premier League after making it six wins from six, while Al Ahly reduced the gap with a 2-0 victory over Zamalek in the Cairo derby during the sixth round.

The league resumed after the international break, during which Egypt played three matches against Angola, South Sudan and South Africa.

Al Ahly settled the derby at Cairo International Stadium with goals from Mohamed Hany and Algerian forward Monsef Bekar. Hany opened the scoring in the 38th minute when his powerful shot took a deflection off a player and wrong-footed goalkeeper El Mahdy Soliman.

Bekar added the second in the 66th minute, scoring his first goal for Al Ahly.

The result took Al Ahly to 16 points, two behind leaders Pyramids. Zamalek suffered their first defeat of the season and remain third on 13 points.

Pyramids strengthened their position at the summit with a 4-1 win over Ceramica Cleopatra. Mostafa Ziko, Ahmed Nazir, Mohand Lasheen and Youssef Ibrahim “Obama” scored for Pyramids, while Abdullah Magdy was on target for Ceramica.

Ceramica Cleopatra stayed sixth on 12 points.

Al Ittihad Alexandria came from behind to beat El Gouna 2-1, recording their fourth consecutive league victory. An own goal by Al Ittihad’s Mohamed Mostafa “Mido” gave El Gouna the lead before Hossam Hassan equalised and Mohamed Tony completed the comeback.

Al Ittihad moved to fifth with 13 points, behind Zamalek and Modern Sport on goal difference. They are three points behind second-placed Al Ahly and five behind Pyramids. El Gouna remain 19th, with two points.

Petroleum Assiut claimed their first win of the season by beating Abu Qir Fertilizers 2-1. Mohamed Eid and Fathy Gamal scored for the winners, while Ali Hussein replied for Abu Qir.

It was Petroleum Assiut’s first victory in all competitions after two draws and four defeats in the Egyptian Premier League and the Egypt Capital Cup. They climbed to 16th with five points, while Abu Qir remain 18th on three points after a fifth successive loss.

Sixth-round results

Al Ahly 2-0 Zamalek; Pyramids 4-1 Ceramica Cleopatra; Al Ittihad 2-0 El Gouna; Al Masry 1-1 El Qanah; Petroleum Assiut 2-1 Abu Qir Fertilizers; Petrojet Al-Suez 2-2 Wadi Degla; National Bank of Egypt 3-0 Tala’ea El Gaish; Arab Contractors 1-1 ZED; Modern Sport 3-2 Eastern Enppi; Smouha 1-0 Ghazl El Mahalla.

Top scorers and competition format

Modern Sport striker Mahmoud Mamdouh leads the scoring charts with six goals after his hat-trick against Eastern Enppi. Behind him on three goals are Mostafa El Badry (Suez National-Petrojet), Ahmed Sayed Zizo (Al Ahly) and Mauli Mayo (El Qanah).

The competition features 20 teams playing a single round. The top six enter a championship group competing for the title and African qualification places, while the other 14 teams contest a relegation group.

Standings after six rounds

1 Pyramids 18; 2 Al Ahly 16; 3 Zamalek 13 (goal difference +5); 4 Modern Sport 13 (+4); 5 Al Ittihad Alexandria 13 (+4); 6 Ceramica Cleopatra 12; 7 National Bank of Egypt 9; 8 Arab Contractors 8; 9 Petrojet Al-Suez 8; 10 ZED 8; 11 El Qanah 7; 12 Al Masry 7; 13 Smouha 7; 14 Tala’ea El Gaish 7; 15 Wadi Degla 6; 16 Petroleum Assiut 5; 17 Eastern Enppi 4; 18 Abu Qir Fertilizers 3; 19 El Gouna 2; 20 Ghazl El Mahalla 1.