Ceramica Cleopatra top the table after learning from last season’s lessons

Ceramica Cleopatra have moved temporarily to the top of the Egyptian Premier League after beating Bank Al Ahly 2-1, with football supervisor Moataz El-Batrawy saying the club’s disappointing defeat by Al Qanah helped trigger the team’s revival.

The victory in the fifth round took Ceramica Cleopatra to 12 points, level with Pyramids, and gave them their best start to a league campaign after five matches.

“ We won despite the absences,” El-Batrawy told Modern Channel. “Ali Maher and his staff have built a team with character on the pitch, and we have seen that in the last four matches after the setback against Al Qanah.

“We want to finish in the top four, as we did last season.”

Ceramica Cleopatra lost to Al Qanah in their previous match, but El-Batrawy said that result had provided a decisive response from the squad.

“The defeat by Al Qanah in the last round was the reason for the team’s awakening in the successive matches,” he said. “We wanted to make up for that first defeat with these wins.”

El-Batrawy played down the significance of leading the table at this stage of the season, citing the experience of the previous campaign.

“What do we feel about being at the top of the league? We learned a harsh lesson from last season,” he said. “It is still early. We will not be happy until the end of the league.

“All we can do is work hard, solve our problems and take one match at a time to reach the position we want.”

Ceramica Cleopatra finished last season in the top four and believe they can improve on that achievement.

“Last season we ended the league in the top four and had a chance to finish in a better position,” El-Batrawy added. “We will try to achieve what we did not manage last season.”

He also praised Maher for creating competition throughout the squad, particularly with several players unavailable for the victory over Bank Al Ahly.

“Ali Maher is focused on the character of the whole team on the pitch,” El-Batrawy said. “There is no longer a first-choice player or a substitute at Ceramica Cleopatra. Everyone is capable of representing the team, and that was clear despite the many absences.”

Ceramica Cleopatra’s next match is against Pyramids, a fixture El-Batrawy expects to be difficult.

“The match against Pyramids will be very tough,” he said. “Pyramids have started the season brilliantly. Today’s victory will allow us to go into the match calmly, especially with the forthcoming international break.”

Asked about negotiations over a new contract for Maher, El-Batrawy said: “We are focused on our work at the moment.”

Ceramica Cleopatra’s 12-point tally is their highest after five league matches. Their previous totals at the same stage were eight points in 2020-21, eight in 2021-22, six in 2022-23, four in 2023-24, eight in 2024-25 and seven in 2025-26.

Bank Al Ahly will face Pyramids in a challenging sixth-round match after the international break.