Defending champions Espérance Sportive de Tunis were knocked out of the CAF Champions League following a 3-2 aggregate loss to Zamalek in the CAF Champions League quarterfinal on Friday.
Espérance won the second leg 1-0 at the Stade Olympique de Rades in Rades but it was not enough to overturn a two-goal deficit following a 3-1 loss away in Egypt last week.
Espérance had won the CAF Champions League in the past two editions.
Algerian forward Billel Bensaha scored the only goal of the game through a penalty in the 5th minute.
Despite dominating possession, Espérance created more opportunities than Zamalek but ultimately failed to take their chances.
The victory, though inconsequential, was Espérance’s first in nine matches against the Egyptians. In mid-February, Zamalek defeated Espérance 3-1 to win the CAF Super Cup and topped that with a similar score in their CAF Champions League quarterfinal first leg two weeks later.
Zamalek will face the winners of the quarterfinal between Raja Casablanca of Morocco and TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday in the semifinal.
