A brave 10-man Kaizer Chiefs fell short at the final hurdle as Pitso Mosimane’s formidable Al Ahly side clinched a convincing 3-0 win to defend their CAF Champions League crown at the Mohamed V Stadium on Saturday.
The win also sees South Africa’s Pitso Mosimane win consecutive CAF Champions League titles and his third overall.
Chiefs lost attacker Happy Mashiane to a VAR-assisted red card three minutes into first-half added time.
Chiefs started brightly in the early stages as they held their own in the opening 20 minutes with Mashiane particularly dangerous as an inverted winger on the left flank.
As the game wore on, Al Ahly found increasing joy in their counter-pressing as they regularly stripped Chiefs of possession in dangerous areas within their own half.
Mashiane’s sending off left Chiefs with the daunting task of playing the entire second half with just 10 men after an already difficult first period.
Al Ahly’s goals then came in mechanical procession from Mohamed Sherif in 53rd minute, Mohamed Magdy Afsha in 64th and Amr Al Sulaya in the 74th.
It was disappointment for South Africans at the defeat for Chiefs – the shock package of the 2020-21 competition, whose victory, having never reached the group stage, was a remarkable place in the final.
Mosimane became only the fourth coach in the 57-year history of the Champions League to win back-to-back titles, matching the feat too of the man considered Al Ahly’s best coach of the modern era, Portuguese Manuel Jose in 2005 and 2006. Jose won four Champions Leagues, and Mosimane now stands alone in second place on three.
Al Ahly, who had not won the Champions League for a frustrating seven years before Mosimane’s arrival, went to their Decima of 10 titles.