CAF Champions League
Sudan’s Al Hilal shock Al Ahly, Simba suffer defeat in Dar es Salaam
Sudan Premier League reigning champions Al Hilal picked their first three points in the Group B of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
Al Hilal shocked giants Al Ahly 1-0 in a match played at the Al Hilal Stadium in Khartoum. DR Congo International Makabi Lilepo netted the lone goal after 53 minutes, but had his penalty saved later.
Al Ahly fresh from finishing fourth at the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup held in Morocco had some chances by Hussein Al Shahat and Percy Tau, but the Sudan team stood firm and defended well.
“It was a difficult match, but the players worked hard to make sure we collect maximum points,” said Al Hilal’s head coach Florent Ibenge after the match.
After losing the opening match 1-0 away to Mamelodi Sundowns, Al Hilal are now second on the log with three points, while the South Africans champions lead with six points. Al Alhi are third on the log, and Coton Sport from Cameroon who fell 1-3 to Mamelodi Sundowns are bottom.
In Dar es Salaam, Simba SC suffered a 3-0 home defeat to Raja Casablanca (Morocco) in a Group C match played at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium. Hamza Khaba gave the visitors a 30th minute lead before Simba returned strongly after the interval, but failed to find the target.
Soufiane Benidida made it 2-0 after 82 minutes, and Ismael Mokadem netted a late penalty after 86 minutes. The win keeps Raja Casablanca top of the Group after they kicked off their campaign with a 5-0 win against Uganda’s Vipers SC last week.
Vipers SC also managed to pick their first point after a goalless draw against Horoya AC of Guinea at their St. Marys Stadium, Kitende. Horoya AC are now second in the group with four points, while Vipers SC are third with a point, and Simba Sc bottom with no point.
Another team from the CECAFA region Al Merriekh from Sudan settled for a goalless draw against Zamalek of Egypt in a match played in Benghazi, Libya. The Sudan team that lost their opening match 1-0 away to Esperance de Tunis (Tunisia) opted to host their matches in Libya since they do not have a Stadium approved by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Sudan’s Al Hilal have been drawn to face reigning champions Al Ahly at the quarter final stage of the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
The draw of Africa’s most prestigious club tournament was conducted on Thursday at the beIN studio in Doha, Qatar.
Al Hilal are the only team from the CECAFA Zone to make it to the quarter final stage after Young Africans SC from Tanzania dropped out in the group stage.
Despite the political conflict in Sudan which forced Al Hilal handled by Florent Ibenge to play outside the country, they managed to top the group.
Incase Al Hilal eliminate the 12-time champions Al Ahly, they will face the winner between Mamelodi Sundowns and Esperance Sportive de Tunis at the semi-final stage.
The other two quarter final ties will see Pyramids FC (Egypt) take on AS FAR (Morocco), while Algeria’s MC Alger of Algeria face another South African side Orlando Pirates.
Matches at the quarter-final stage will be played over two legs, with the first leg scheduled for April 1st, 2025 and the return leg on April 8th.
Quarter finals
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) vs Esperance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia)
Al Ahly SC (Egypt) vs Al Hilal SC (Sudan)
MC Alger (Algeria) vs Orlando Pirates (South Africa)
Pyramids FC (Egypt) vs AS FAR (Morocco)
Tanzania Premier League side Young Africans SC have failed to book a place in the quarter-final stage of the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
Young Africans SC needed nothing less than victory against MC Alger in the last group match played in Dar es Salaam on Saturday, but settled for a goalless draw.
Coach Sead Ramovic’s team revived their hopes last weekend after defeating table leaders Al Hilal (Sudan) 1-0 in an away match played in Mauritania. The draw against the Algerian side meant that they finished third in the group with 8 points.
In the second Group A match played in DR Congo, bottom placed TP Mazembe shocked Al Hilal 4-0. Jean Diouf and Ibrahim Keita gave TP Mazembe a 2-0 half time lead.
After the interval Merceil Ngimbi Vumbi increased the lead, and Suleman Shaibu converted a late penalty to make it 4-0.
Al Hilal finished top with 10 points, while MC Alger came second with 9 points and TP Mazembe bottom with 5 points.
Young Africans SC have picked a 1-0 win away to Al Hilal to improve their chances of qualifying for the knock-out stage of the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
Stephane Aziz Ki netted the only goal after 7 minutes in the Group A match played on Sunday at the Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Stadium in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
The Tanzanian side who lost their opening Group match 2-0 to the same Sudan team last year made sure they picked the revenge as they dominated most of the match.
Although Al Hilal have already qualified for the quarter final stage with 10 points, Young Africans SC closed the gap as they moved to 7 points, one behind second placed MC Alger from Algeria.
Young Africans SC will now need to register a win in their last Group A match against MC Alger on January 18th, 2025 at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam. Last year Tanzanian sides Young Africans SC and Simba SC reached the quarter-final stage.
Sudan Premier League reigning champions Al Hilal are the first team to book a quarter final slot in the on-going 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
Coach Folrent Ibenge’s team battled to to a 1-1 draw against MC Alger in a Group A match played on Sunday at the Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Stadium in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
Sofiane Bayazid gave the Algerian side an early 5th minute lead, but the Al Hilal fought back strongly to level matters through Jean Claued Girumugisha. The Burundian International dribbled past two defenders and unleashed a hard shot that the MC Alger goalkeeper failed to stop.
The draw saw Al Hilal kept top of the table with 10 points and qualify for the knock out stage with two more matches to spare.
“We are very happy that we managed to keep pushing despite conceding an early goal. The players have worked hard to get the draw and qualify for the next stage,” said Ibenge.
Al Hilal who are playing all their matches away from home because of the political unrest in Sudan have won three group matches and drawn once.
The Sudan side will next host Tanzania’s Young Africans SC on January 12th, 2025, before they play the last match against TP Mazembe six days later in Lubumbashi.
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