Percy Tau wins his 3rd CAF CL medal as Al Ahly defend their title
Percy Tau accounted for his third CAF Champions League medal as Al Ahly beat ES Tunis 1-0 to successfully defend their club continental title.
The match was played at the Cairo International Stadium. And the Bafana star Percy Tau was in the Red Devils’ first team before being replaced by Aliou Dieng after 60 minutes.
Before this one, Tau won his first CAF Champions League medal with Mamelodi Sundowns. He accounted for the second in the 2022/23 campaign.
Meanwhile, Al Ahly achieved yet another back-to-back title win, a record-extending fourth time after victories in the 2005 and 2006, 2012 and 2013 and 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Again, they won the top-tier continental club competition in consecutive seasons, the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons. Heading into this decisive match, both teams felt as though they had a chance at ultimate victory after the first leg ended in a 0-0 draw.
Simply put, the stakes were high, with the Egyptian giants targeting to capitalise on their home advantage in Cairo. As such, they were quick to show their intentions of getting an early goal at the Cairo International Stadium which was filled to the rafters.
Plausibly, they were thrust into the lead as early as the fourth minute by captain Ramy Rabia. Rabia’s hapless header from a corner-kick was deflected by Roger Aholou before beating the diving goalie, Amanallah Memmiche.
That was all they needed to win as they defended the slender margin until full-time.
AL AHLY MAINTAINS THEIR STERLING CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RECORD
Interestingly, Al-Ahly are now unbeaten in their last 20 CAF Champions League matches, with 13 wins and seven draws.
They kept 17 clean sheets while conceding just three times. On the other hand, ES Tunis were unbeaten in their last five CAF Champions League knockout round matches without conceding.
They won three times and drew three times. Al Ahly has reached the finals multiple times and boasts 12 titles, making them the most successful club in the competition’s history.
Similarly, Esperance has secured the title multiple times. Al Ahly beat TP Mazembe 3-0 at the Cairo International Stadium to reach the final.
On the other hand, Esperance beat Mamelodi Sundowns 2-0 on aggregate to reach the final.
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