Esperance beat Al Ahly 4-3 on aggregate and Claim the African Title | VIDEO

Esperance beat Al Ahly 4-3 on aggregate and Claim the African Title | VIDEO

Ahly lost an African Champions League final for the second successive year as Tunisia’s Esperance outclassed them in a one-sided affair to win 3-0 and clinch the title in Rades on Friday.
Attacking midfielder Saad Bguir, who was kept on the bench in the first leg, proved Esperance’s hero with a double salvo before Anice Badri heaped more misery on Ahly with a late third as the Tunisians ran out 4-3 winners on aggregate.

Ahly failed in what seemed a straightforward task to protect a 3-1 first-leg advantage, with an error-ridden defensive display coupled with a lack of any spark upfront costing them dear.

With Moroccan striker Walid Azaro suspended, the Red Devils could not muster a single effort throughout the 90 minutes. Winger Walid Soliman, their only source of creativity and the standout performer of this year’s Champions League, was well shackled.

Esperance scored from their first real opportunity on the stroke of halftime, Bguir firing home after a slick move to send the home fans into raptures. More defensive mistakes after the break broke the hearts of the visiting Ahly contingent.

It was a bitter night for Ahly at the venue which hosted their memorable Champions League triumphs in 2006 and 2012. It was also their second successive defeat in the final after they lost to Morocco’s Wydad last year.

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