The Red Eagles were held to a goalless draw against South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg of the CAF Champions League semi-finals at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

The Eagles delivered a solid performance throughout the match. From the opening whistle, Marcel Koller’s men looked sharp as they created several dangerous opportunities. In the 7th minute, Emam Ashour delivered a low cross into the box to Nejc Gradišar, but he couldn’t find the back of the net.

Our opponents had several attacking attempts, but our defensive line stood firm, with Mohamed El Shenawy remaining alert. 

The Reds came closest to scoring just before halftime when Emam sent in another precise cross to Gradišar, whose header struck the post. The teams then went into the break level at 0-0

In the second half, our Eagles maintained their rhythm and continued to control the pace of the game.

In the 65th minute, Gradišar found the back of the net following a flick from Achraf Dari, but after a VAR review, the goal was disallowed for offside.

Later in the match, Achraf Bencharki replaced Gradišar and made an instant impact, finding the back of the net in stoppage time. However, the goal was ruled out for offside.

The match ended goalless, setting up a decisive second leg in Cairo.

Post-match reactions:

Marcel Koller

“We played a strong, organized match against a tough opponent and created several chances. Now, our full focus is on finishing the job in Cairo.”