Monday will see Egyptian giants Al-Ahly chase down a record breaking third successive CAF Champions League title when they clash with Wydad Athletic Club of Morocco in the final at the Mohamed V Stadium.
The Cairo giants are looking to become the first club to achieve the feat after winning the last two editions, both under the helm of South African coach Pitso Mosimne.
Their 10 successes in the Champions League is a runaway record, double the number of their nearest rivals TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo and their neighbours Zamalek, who has won five each.
Below are some facts about both teams:
- This will be the third CAF Champions League final between Moroccan and Egyptian sides, and a repeat of the 2017 showpiece, which saw Wydad Casablanca win (2-1) over two-legs (also Zamalek vs Raja Casablanca in 2002).
- 10-time CAF Champions League/Africa Cup of Champions Clubs; Al-Ahly is looking to become the first side to win the competition in three consecutive seasons, after beating Zamalek (2-1) in 2019-20 and Kaiser Chiefs in 2020-21 (3-0).
- This will be Wydad Casablanca’s third CAF Champions League final in six seasons, after 2017 (winners) and 2018-19 (runners-up) and their fifth overall in the CAF Champions League/Africa Cup of Champions Clubs (W2 L2), the most by a Moroccan side in the competition.
Al-Ahly’s Percy Tau - The final is the 11th meeting between Al-Ahly and Wydad Casablanca in the CAF Champions League, with the Egyptian side edging the head-to-head battle so far, winning four to Wydad’s two victories (Draw in 4 games).
- Al-Ahly has won their last two CAF Champions League matches against Wydad Casablanca – both legs of their semi-final meeting in 2019-20 (2-0 and 3-1) and are looking to win three in a row against the Moroccan side for the first time in the competition.
- Defending champions Al-Ahly started slowly in the CAF Champions League this season, failing to score in three of their first four games (W1 D1 L2), while they’ve scored in each of their last six, averaging 2.2 goals per game (13 in total – W4 D2).
- 44 per cent of the headed goals (7/16) scored in the CAF Champions League in 2021-22 have come from these two sides, with Wydad Casablanca netting the most (4), ahead of Al-Ahly’s three.
- Al-Ahly has had at least 25 more high turnovers (94 – the number of sequences that start in open play and begin 40m or less from the opponent’s goal) than any other side in the CAF Champions League this season, with 20 ending in shots and three ending in goals – both competition highs in 2021-22.
- Wydad Casablanca is the top-scoring team in the CAF Champions League this season with 20 goals, while they’ve had nine different players score at least once (excluding own goals), no side have had more different goal-scorers in the competition this season (level with Mamelodi Sundowns).
- Wydad Casablanca has scored their 20 goals from an expected goals tally of just 11.3, while they also have the best shot conversion rate – 18.7 per cent (20/107).
- Wydad Casablanca has scored 50 per cent of their goals (10/20) via set-pieces in the CAF Champions League in 2021-22 (four corners, three free-kicks, one direct free-kick and two penalties) – since 2016 (when this data is available) only ES Tunis in 2018-19 (11) have scored more in a single season in the competition.
- Al-Ahly’s Percy Tau has been directly involved in eight goals (three goals, five assists), more than any other player in the CAF Champions League this season, while the last player with more in a single campaign was Tresor Mputu in 2018-19 (9 – four goals, five assists for TP Mazembe).
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