The weekend brought significant developments in African football, with Egyptian giants Al Ahly suffering a surprising elimination from the African Champions League at the hands of Al Ahli Benghazi of Libya in the round of 16. Despite opening the scoring, Al Ahly faltered, conceding three goals in a span of 15 minutes and ultimately losing 2-3 in the return leg in Cairo, sealing a 2-4 aggregate defeat.
Meanwhile, two Congolese clubs, AS Vita Club and TP Mazembe, secured their places in the group stage of the competition. AS Vita Club, despite a 2-0 defeat in Johannesburg, advanced on away goals after a convincing 3-0 victory in Kinshasa against Kaizer Chiefs. TP Mazembe secured their spot with a narrow 1-0 victory over Sewé Sport San Pedro in Abidjan, advancing on away goals with a 2-2 aggregate score.
In other results, CS Sfaxien of Tunisia defeated Horoya AC of Guinea 2-0, sealing a 3-0 aggregate victory.
The eliminated clubs from the Champions League round of 16 will now compete in the play-offs for qualification to the group stages of the Confederation Cup.
Saturday’s results:
- TP Mazembe (Congo DR) vs. Séwé Sport (Ivory Coast) 1-0 [Agg: 2-2] (66′ Mbwana Samatta)
- Al Ahly (Egypt) vs. Al Ahli Benghazi (Libya) 2-3 [Agg: 2-4] (40′ Mohamed Naguib, 75′ Amr Gamal | 42′ Abdulrahman Fetori {pen}, 52′ Farag Abdel-Hafiz, 58′ Moataz El Mahdy)
- CS Sfaxien (Tunisia) vs. Horoya AC (Guinea) 2-0 [Agg: 3-0] (11′ Fakhreddine Ben Youssef, 26′ Mohamed Ali Moncer)
- Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa) vs. Vita Club (Congo DR) 2-0 [Agg: 2-3] (9′ Knowledge Musona, 90+2′ Morgan Gould)
These results have reshaped the landscape of African football, setting the stage for exciting matches in the upcoming stages of the competitions.
Tags: South Africa, Al Ahli Benghazi, Al Ahly, CAF, CS Sfaxien, Egypt, elimination, Guinea, Horoya AC, Kaizer Chiefs, Libya, League of Champions, RD Congo, Séwé Sport, TP Mazembe, Tunisia, Vita Club
