CAIRO – There are exciting duels awaiting in the semi-final of the CAF Champions League, following the conclusion of the quarter-final fixtures.
Record champions Al-Ahly of Egypt has booked an exciting North African derby against Esperance of Tunisia while holders Wydad Athletic Club of Morocco will take on South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in what has now been a mouth-watering North vs South derby.
The first-leg matches will be played on May 12, with the return ties a week later. Who will blink first this season?
The Egyptian giants progressed to the last four after edging out Morocco’s Raja Club Athletic. The two sides drew 0-0 in Casablanca, with Al-Ahly surviving a barrage of attacks from Raja including a missed penalty.
It was the 2-0 first leg result in Cairo last week that propelled Al-Ahly, as they remain on course for a record extending 11th African title.
Esperance earned a spot to their third semi-final in six seasons after edging out Algeria’s JS Kabylie 2-1 on aggregate. Esperance was eliminated by an Algerian team, ES Setif, at the same stage last season, but went one better this time.
They played to a 1-1 draw in the return fixture against Kabylie, but having won the first-leg 1-0 last week, they earned their qualification.
Esperance and Al-Ahly most recently met at the same stage of the competition, in the 2020-21 season, where Ahly won 4-0 on aggregate.
In the second semi, holders Wydad needed penalties to progress to the last eight. They had beaten Tanzania’s Simba 1-0 in Casablanca to tie the aggregate score at 1-1 having lost by the same margin in Dar es Salaam the previous weekend.
They come up against favorites Sundowns, who thrashed Algeria’s CR Belouizdad 6-2 on aggregate to progress.
They came from a goal down to win the return tie 2-1 in Pretoria, adding up to their 4-1 victory in Algiers the previous weekend.
Sundowns has made it into the semi-finals for the first time since the 2018-19 season. They have had three quarter final eliminations since.
They faced Wydad in the final when they clinched their first title in 2016, winning 3-0 in the first-leg at home and losing the return fixture 1-0 in Casablanca.
The two sides also clashed in the same stage when Sundowns last reached the semis in the 2018-19 season.
Wydad won the tie 2-1 on aggregate, having won the first-leg in Casablanca and drawn the return fixture 0-0 away from home.
The first-leg matches will be played on May 12, with the return ties a week later. Who will blink first this season?
Race hots up for Confed Cup title
The journey towards crowning a new champion of the CAF Confederation Cup has now narrowed down with the semi-final roster complete, following the end of the exciting quarter-final round of matches played over the weekend.
Tanzanian league champions Young Africans (Yanga) will play a continental semi-final for the first time ever after progressing, and will take on South African debutants Marumo Gallants.
In the second semi-final, Ivorian side Asec Mimosas will take on Algeria’s USM Alger.
Yanga earned their place in the last four after edging out Nigeria’s Rivers United. The first-leg 2-0 victory in Uyo proved to be the decisive result, as the two sides played to a 0-0 draw in the second leg in Dar es Salaam.
Meanwhile, Gallants continued their dream run in the competition after edging out 2019-20 finalists Pyramids 1-0.
They went through 2-1 on aggregate having played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Cairo last weekend. Even then, Pyramids had to score a last-minute penalty to tie the game.
What will be more interesting for this duel between Yanga and Marumo will be the return of coach Dylan Kerr to Tanzania. Kerr had a stint coaching Yanga’s bitter rivals Simba in the 2015-2016 season.
He will now lead Marumo to Dar es Salaam, as an ‘enemy’, once again.
Meanwhile, Ivorian side Asec earned their place in the last four for the first time ever in the new dispensation of the competition.
They progressed after beating Tunisia’s US Monastir 2-0 in Abidjan, having played to a 0-0 draw in the first leg played in North Africa last week.
They come up against Algeria’s USM Alger, who progressed 4-3 on aggregate against Morocco’s AS FAR.
They lost the second-leg 3-2 in Rabat, but the first leg 2-0 result in Algiers last weekend proved to be decisive as it took them through.
The first-leg matches of the semi-finals are scheduled for May 10, with the return fixtures a week later.
