Al Ahly to face Esperance in African Champions League final

Al Ahly, the defending champions from Egypt, emerged victorious in their semi-final match against Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Cairo. They secured a comfortable aggregate triumph with a 3-0 win after a goalless draw in the first leg in Lubumbashi.

On the other hand, Esperance of Tunisia pulled off a surprising 1-0 win over South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns in Pretoria. Esperance's 20-year-old defender, Raed Bouchniba, scored a clinical shot in the 57th minute, leading to a 2-0 aggregate victory for the Tunisians.

The match between Esperance and Sundowns faced a delay of 70 minutes due to a lightning strike in South Africa's capital, which caused some of the floodlights to go out amidst a heavy thunderstorm.

Despite being the winners of the new African Football League this season, Sundowns fell short of reaching the Champions League final for the eighth consecutive season.

Esperance's young goalkeeper, Amanallah Memmich, made impressive saves, preventing the South African forwards from finding the back of the net. The victory also secured a spot for Esperance in next year's Club World Cup in the US.

In Al Ahly's match against Mazembe, defender Mohamed Abdel-Moneim broke the deadlock in the 68th minute with a goal.

Wessam Abou Ali added a second in the 83rd minute with a clever finish, and Akram Tawfiq sealed their superiority with a third goal in stoppage time.

The first leg of the final will be hosted by Esperance on May 19th, with the return leg taking place in Cairo seven days later.

Esperance, who won their last Champions League title in 2019 and have been runners-up four times, will face Al Ahly in this year's African Champions League final.