Zamalek edge Abu Qir Fertilizers to move top of Egyptian Premier League

Zamalek moved temporarily to the top of the Egyptian Premier League with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over newly promoted Abu Qir Fertilizers at Cairo Stadium on Tuesday.

Mohamed Ismail opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a powerful volley after goalkeeper Mahmoud Abdel Rahim “Gennesh” had come off his line to challenge Zamalek’s Moroccan defender Mahmoud Bentayg. The strike flew into an unguarded net to give the reigning champions the lead.

Despite falling behind, Abu Qir Fertilizers continued to threaten Zamalek and produced the more dominant performance in several key statistics. The visitors enjoyed 53% possession and registered 13 shots, compared with eight from Zamalek.

The most dramatic moment of the match came in the 69th minute. Omar Gaber sent a cross into the penalty area and Adi Al-Dabbagh appeared ready to turn it into the net, but Abu Qir Fertilizers defender Mohamed Debash made a crucial intervention on the goal-line to prevent what looked certain to be an equaliser.

Zamalek eventually secured all three points with three minutes of normal time remaining. Substitute Ahmed Sherif found space inside the penalty area while the Abu Qir defence was caught off guard, then lifted the ball over Gennesh to complete the scoring.

The result takes Zamalek to 10 points from four matches and puts them first in the table for now, although the standings could change when the remaining fixtures in the fourth round are played.

They are one point ahead of Pyramids, Al Ahly and Ceramica Cleopatra. However, both Pyramids and Al Ahly have played only three matches, leaving them with the opportunity to overtake the champions.

This was Zamalek’s third league victory of the season. They had previously beaten National Bank of Egypt and Petrojet, while their campaign began with a draw against Al Ittihad Alexandria.

Abu Qir Fertilizers remain 15th with three points after suffering their third successive defeat. The newly promoted side created a number of opportunities and matched Zamalek for long periods, but were unable to convert their possession and greater number of attempts into goals.

Zamalek will next travel to face Ghazl El Mahalla on 16 September in the fifth round of the league. Before that, they will host Port of Djibouti on Saturday in the second leg of their CAF Champions League preliminary-round tie.

The match also featured a striking piece of individual skill from Bentayg before Sherif’s lofted finish, moments highlighted in video clips shared online. Another widely circulated clip showed Debash’s goal-line clearance, with viewers asking whether the defender had produced the save of the season.

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