CAF Champions League: Al Ahly in danger, Stade Malien dreams of a feat against Sundowns

Pyramids, a reigning champion in danger
To continue defending his title, Pyramids must do better than what he proposed last week in Rabat against ASFAR. The Egyptians were content with the draw (1-1) in an intense match with a naturally hostile audience. At home this Saturday, the men of Krunoslav Jurčić must pull out all the stops to hope to advance to the next round. 

And the Croat is aware of this, even if he does not appreciate the 'unfair and incomprehensible' media treatment around his club: «I am happy that Pyramids FC has reached the quarter-finals of the highest tournament on the African continent, especially since Pyramids is the defending champion and everyone knows that reaching the top and winning the title is difficult, but keeping it is even more», recalled Jurčić.

Mamelodi Sundowns to finish the job in Bamako
Large winner (3-0) in Pretoria last week, Mamelodi Sundowns already has almost two feet in the semi-finals. Before their trip to Bamako for the return match against Stade Malien, the South Africans are never confident, even if Miguel Cardoso wants a new triumph to increase confidence in the group before the winter break.

"We are going to reverse the situation"
However, the Malians believe in their chance to make a remontada against the 'Brazilians of Africa'. 

"We have a lot of regrets because we did not play our game and we offered an easy victory to the Sundowns. It should also be noted that we had injured players and others suspended, but they are all back in Bamako," 

explained Mauril Njoya, coach of the Malian side in a pre-match press conference, in remarks reported by Citizen.

Before proceeding with assurance:

 "We will reverse the situation, promises Njoya. We finished first in our group which included the Espérance, Petro de Luanda and Simba FC, so we are not just tourists, but against the Sundowns, we did not live up to it.”

“Even a great team like Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany. It happens, but what I regret is that we did not measure up. Normally, we could have done better, but in Bamako, we will do better and show what we are capable of," added the Cameroonian coach.

Al Ahly - ES Tunis, the clash of the titans
After the end of the match, stormy but perfectly managed by the Senegalese referee Issa Sy who avoided skirmishes, Al Ahly and Esperance Tunis find themselves in Cairo. The Red Devils had been beaten 1-0 in Tunis during the first leg and this return phase promises to be volcanic in the Egyptian capital. 

With the feedback from Zizo and Aliou Dieng, Al Ahly has all his assets to put in doubt the Tunisians. The match should take place behind closed doors but will undoubtedly be the biggest attraction of the weekend. "It will be a difficult match, but our goal is clear, to qualify," said Patrice Beaumelle in the pre-game press conference.

For his part, Jess Thorup, coach of Al Ahly thinks that his team can reverse the trend: "We lost the first half in Tunisia, but the match is still open and there is another half tomorrow in Cairo. We have prepared well, we have analyzed our mistakes and we are ready to improve our offensive performance," the Dane promised in statements reported by Ahram Online.

The program (GMT hours)


Saturday, March 21

16h: Pyramids - AS FAR

19h: Al Ahly - ES Tunis 


Sunday, March 22

16h: Malian Stadium - Mamelodi Sundowns

19h: Al Hilal - RS Berkane