Al Ahly wins CAF Champions League back-to-back

The Cairo giants claimed a record-extending 10th crown, they’re second on the trot, after beating South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs 3-0 in a one-sided final in Casablanca.

In-form striker Mohamed Sherif finally made Ahly’s dominance count after breaking the deadlock seven minutes after the restart, with playmaker Magdi Afsha and midfielder Amr El-Sulaya adding two more goals to wrap up the win against their 10-man opponents.

“We performed well during the tournament and we deserve the title,” El-Shennawi said in a television interview.

“All Ahly players are already thinking about the next targets. We still have more competitions to target, especially the Egyptian Premier League. We are looking to make history.”

Ahly climbs to 22 Africa titles while Chiefs still claim just the one, the now-defunct African Cup Winners’ Cup in 2001, but after finishing eighth in the league, some 31 points behind champions Sundowns, reaching the final was a success in itself.

Al Ahly, meanwhile, rolls on and will hope to impress at the Club World Cup in a similar fashion to 2020 when they beat Palmeiras of Brazil and took the game to European champions Bayern Munich in an impressive semi-final defeat.

Prior to that, El Shenawy and five Ahly team-mates have more football to play as they head off to Tokyo ahead of Egypt’s Olympic participation later this month.

The Red Devils are hoping they can replicate last season’s success when they won a remarkable treble.

They will overtake Cairo rivals Zamalek on top of the league table with a two-point lead should they win their four games in hand. They will also face Enppi in the Egypt Cup round of 16

“We suffered because of the hectic schedule of games but we lived up to expectations and won the trophy,” the beaming El-Shennawi added.