It was a dramatic Saturday of CAF inter-club football as three Egyptian Premier League sides crashed out the competitions, including record champions Al Ahly and defending champions Pyramids.
The continent’s opposing teams will be breathing a collective sigh of relief to see Pyramids and Al Ahly out of the CAF Champions League as the two clear favouirtes for the competition this season.
Pyramids featured in the early kickoff against Botola Pro side ASFAR and suffered a 2-1 defeat in Cairo witlh Reda Slim anf Mohamed Rabie Hrimat scoring for the vistitors, while Fiston Kalala Mayele bagged the consolation for the home side.
The 3-1 aggregate scoreline reverberated around the continent as a statement victory for the Moroccan club, but what followed later at the Cairo International Stadium just 14km away topped off the events.
Esperance Sportive de Tunis, coming in with a 1-0 aggregate lead from the first leg in Tunis, played the perfect away tie, with their usual defensive stability and adding some ruthless efficiency with the chances they created, with a 3-2 victory and 4-2 aggregate win.
For the semi-finals; ASFAR will now face the winner between RS Berkane and AL Hilal, while Esperance await the outcome of Mamelodi Sundowns against Stade Malien with the South African giants holding a 3-0 lead from the opening match at Loftus Versfeld.
Meanwhile, Al Masry, were also eliminated, from the CAF Confederation Cup, as Sead Ramovic’s CR Belouizdad secured a 1-1 scoreline on aggregate to advance on the away goal rule to the last-four of the competition.
