Thorup hails Al Ahly’s performance against Aigle Noir

Al Ahly coach Jess Thorup praised his players after they overcame an early red card to defeat Burundi’s Aigle Noir 1-0 in the second leg of the CAF Champions League round of 32 on Saturday, sealing a 2-0 aggregate victory and qualification for the group stage.

“From the beginning, our target was to qualify for the next round, and we did that after taking advantage of the first-leg result,” Thorup told reporters after the match.

The Egyptian champions were reduced to ten men just 15 minutes into the game when Slovenian forward Nejc Gradisar was shown a red card.

Despite the setback, Ahly dominated possession and created several chances, with Gradisar twice going close before his dismissal.

“We played more than 75 minutes with ten men but managed the situation well, organizing ourselves defensively,” Thorup said.

“I thank the players for their performance despite the difficulty of the match, and especially Omar Kamal for taking his goal chance perfectly.”

Kamal struck the decisive goal in the 59th minute to secure Ahly’s progression to the group stage for another season.

“The performance was good despite the numerical disadvantage,” Thorup added.

“The team controlled the rhythm of the game even with several changes to the lineup, which allowed us to rest some players and give opportunities to others. This proves that Al Ahly have a strong squad with quality depth.”

Thorup said he tailors his squad selection and tactics to suit each opponent.

“Every game is a chance to learn and improve,” he said.

“We’ve now won three matches in a row, and while victories are important, so is our continued development. We always aim to choose the most suitable formation for each game.”

The Danish coach concluded by stressing his confidence in the entire squad, saying he rotates players based on the demands of each fixture.