Egyptian club Al Ahly beat Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa 2-0 in the first leg of their CAF Champions League quarterfinal at the Cairo International Stadium in Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday.
A brace in the second half from defender Ali Maaloul gave the eight-time champions a strong advantage heading into the second leg.
This match was a repeat of last year’s quarterfinal in which Sundowns ran out 5-1 winners on aggregate and, in the process, inflicted Al Ahly’s heaviest continental defeat with a 5-0 home win in the first leg.
History was against the South Africans as they had never defeated their opponents in Egypt in three previous attempts. Sundowns, champions in 2016, had also not managed to score a goal in those matches.
Despite having less possession than the visitors (47% to 53%), Al Ahly created more chances and, more importantly, took them.
Maaloul gave the Egyptians the lead in the 56th minute and then converted a penalty 12 minutes later to double their advantage.
The second leg will be played at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on March 7, the venue of Sundowns’ famous 5-0 win.
In the other quarterfinal matches on Friday, Raja Casablanca of Morocco defeated five-time winners TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 while Zamalek of Egypt beat defending champions Esperance of Tunisia 3-1.
Later on Saturday, Mohamed Nahiri scored in either half as Wydad Athletic of Morocco defeated Tunisian club Etoile du Sahel 2-0.
