ALEXANDRIA, Egypt – The group stage of the 2022-23 CAF Champions League began to take shape with the first four teams booking slots after winning the return fixtures of the second preliminary round.
Zamalek, Mamelodi Sundowns, CR Belouizdad and Petro de Luanda and are the first four teams to confirm their place at the group stage.
Egyptian giants Zamalek progressed to the group stage with a 5-1 victory on Burundi’s Flambeau du Centre in the second-leg of the second preliminary round in Alexandria.
Ahmed Sayed ‘Zizo’ was the star of the White Knights as he scored a hat trick with Ibrahima Ndiaye and Youssef Osama Nabih scoring one each.
Leonard Gakwaya had drawn the Burundian champions level in the 25th minute to cancel out Zizo’s fourth minute opener, but the home side went to the break with a 3-1 lead, and cemented their victory with two more goals in the second-half.
Elsewhere, Sundowns, the 2016 Champions, earned another slot in the group phase with a well worked 8-1 victory over Seychelles champions La Passe, progressing with a massive 15-1 aggregate score. They had won the first leg 7-0 last weekend to put one foot in the group phase.
In the return tie, Cassius Mailula scored a hattrick, Gift Motupa two while Thapelo Morena, Hashim Domingo and Neo Maema scored one each. Morena opened the scoring after eight minutes unmarked at the back post before La Passe equalised in the 37th minute through Florent Rajaoniasy’s bouncing header off a cross from the right.
The visitors briefly had a dream of walking toe to toe with Sundowns, but that was quickly put out when Mailula scored the first of his three with a beautiful backheel from a cross on the left.
He added his second at the stroke of half-time for a 3-1 lead at the break before Sundowns could go on the rampage in the second half with five unanswered goals, completely outplaying their opponents.
Meanwhile, Algeria’s CR Belouizdad who reached the quarter finals of last season’s competition also progressed after overturning a 2-1 first-leg loss against Malian side Djoliba, winning 2-0 in the return tie to progress 3-2 on aggregate.
Miloud Rebiai and Abderrahmane Bourdim scored the all-important goals in either half to send the Algerians to the group phase.
Elsewhere, Angola’s Petro de Luanda, semi-finalists of last year’s edition also earned a group stage berth after a 1-0 win at home against South Africa’s Cape Town City. They progressed 4-0 on aggregate after winning the first leg last weekend 3-0.
Leonardo Manuel Isola Ramos alias Cabibi scored the winner in the return tie late in the second half.
Cape Town, La Passe, Djoliba and Flambeau will now all drop to the second additional preliminary round in the CAF Confederation Cup.
