Al Ahly Defeat Raja 2-1 in CAF CL Quarter-finals First Leg

Al Ahly achieved a 2-1 victory on Saturday night over Morocco’s Raja CA at Al Ahly WE Al Salam Stadium in the first leg of the CAF Champions League quarter-finals.

Amr El Soulia and Hussien El Shahat gifted us an important lead in the opening twenty minutes of the game but a late goal in the first half from Raja reduced the deficit. 

We will meet in the second leg on Friday night in Casablanca. 

First Half

Al Ahly started the game with a frontline pressure and our players were sharp enough to have a two-goal lead after 23 minutes. 

With 13 minutes on the clock, we were awarded a penalty after the referee checked the VAR. Amr El Soulia stood behind the ball and broke the deadlock from the spot.  

In the 23th minute, we managed to add another goal, thanks to a prolific finish from Hussien El Shahat. Percy Tau received the ball on the left flank and sent a sensational pass inside the box. With a first-time touch, El Shahat converted the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-0 for the Red Eagles.

In the 38th minute, we were close to adding another goal as Amr El Soulia blasted a strong header, but the defender cleared it away from the goal line to keep the result 2-0. 

Against the game flow, Mohamed Zrida managed to score Raja’s first goal in the 44th minute, before the referee blew his halftime whistle. 

Second half

The second half started with the Red Eagles pushing forward to score another goal, but Raja’s defenders blocked our attempts. 

Pitso Mosimane made his first substitution in the game, as Hamdy Fathy joined the field instead of Aliou Dieng.

In the 58th minute, we were awarded another penalty after the defender denied El Shahat’s shot by his hand, before receiving a red card. However, El Soulia missed it as his shot was blocked by Anas Zniti.

We kept pushing forward and in the 63rd minute, we had another scoring chance. Mohamed Hany sent a brilliant pass to Tau, who shot the ball with a first-time touch but his efforts went over the bar.

Two minutes later, Mosimane used his bench again and Mohamed Magdy “Afsha” joined the match instead of Mohamed Sherif.

We kept pushing to score the third goal, but our attempts were blocked by Raja’s defenders. 

In the 76th minute, our coach used his bench again as Taher Mohamed and Walid Soliman joined the game instead of Hussien El Shahat and Mohamed Abdelmonem.

In the 80th minute, Ahmed Abdelkader dribbled past the defender with a staggering feint and sent a beautiful pass to Tau, but our striker’s efforts went to a goal kick. 

In the 84th minute, Ayman Ashraf left the field and Mahmoud Wahid joined the game, as our coach was boosting our attacking power. 

The final minutes went on and the Red Eagles kept pushing until the referee blew his final whistle to declare a 2-1 win for the Red Eagles.