Al Ahly demonstrated their superiority to Coton Sport despite being without six key players, securing a 3-0 win in Cairo on Saturday.
The victory provides a significant boost to their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League.
The first goal was initiated by Mohamed Sherif in the very first minute, and later on, Algerian newcomer Ahmed Kendouci and youngster Raafat Khalil scored in the 40th and 90th minutes, respectively, sealing the victory with a dominant display.
Despite missing six players due to injuries, Swiss coach Marcel Koller had to shuffle his team. As a result, the 10-time African Champions remained in third place in Group B with four points, while Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa took the lead with seven points and Sudan’s Al-Hilal followed closely with six points. Coton Sport currently occupies the bottom spot in the group with no points.
After being reinstated to the starting lineup, Sherif wasted no time in justifying his coach’s decision, receiving a cutback pass from Taher Mohamed Taher and firing it into the top corner from within the box just 53 seconds into the game.
Ahly continued to assert their dominance throughout the match, with ball possession exceeding 60 percent. Although Hamdy Fathy missed a couple of opportunities to increase the lead, he was thwarted by both the keeper and the crossbar in quick succession.
Al Ahly suffered yet another injury setback when Sherif was forced to leave the game just after the half-hour mark and was substituted by Shady Hussein.
However, in the 40th minute, Ahmed Kendouci, who joined Ahly in January, marked his debut with a goal, racing past a defender at the near post to meet a precise cross from Ali Maaloul with a diving header. The Red Devils continued to mount pressure in the second half, with Maaloul again finding an unmarked Mohamed Abdel-Moneim in the area, but his header missed the target.
With the points appearing to be secure, Koller made the decision to rest some of his players, bringing on Marwan Atteya, Raafat Khalil, and Ahmed Nabil Koka in place of Aliou Dieng, Taher Mohamed, and Hamdy Fathy, respectively.
Khalil had a dream debut, scoring Ahly’s third goal from close range after connecting with a low cross from Maaloul.
However, Ahly faces a daunting task in their upcoming match against group leaders Mamelodi Sundowns on Friday, with several players still uncertain to play due to injury concerns.
