The first semi-final first leg of the CAF Champions League was played on Friday 12 May. The match between Esperance Tunis and Al Ahly (0-3) turned in favor of the great club of Cairo who inflicted a collective recital to the Blood and Gold with a great performance signed by the South African, Percy Tau.
The most successful club (10) in CAF Champions League history has opened a royal road to a second consecutive final. Their trip to Tunis was a model of control and event management. The difference between Al Ahly and Esperance Tunis on Friday in the first leg of the CAF Champions League semi-final gives little hope for Esperance in the second leg.
Al Ahly’s players have been kept behind closed doors due to the heavy sanction imposed by CAF following the outbursts in the quarter-final against JS Kabylie, and they took advantage of this decision to inflict a heavy defeat on the Tunisians. If the coldness is obvious on the stands, the players of Cairo throw a cold on the pitch by opening the score in the 8th minute by the experienced, Percy Tau. The South African international, who had been playing on the right side of the pitch, did not hesitate to shoot and cause Esperance Tunis goalkeeper Debchi to make a mistake. On the other side of the pitch, the Sang et Or went on the offensive to try and get back into the game, with almost all the action passing through their left-hand side to find the net. Despite the possession, the Esperantists are confronted with a team block that leaves no space for the Tunisians. The keeper, El Shenawy will not be worried.
After the break, Al Ahly were more enterprising, realising that there was room for them to take the lead. It was time for the man of the match, Percy Tau, to take charge. The Bafana Bafana man showed his talent and class on all his passes, always being accurate in his transmissions, his shifts. In the 55th minute, Percy Tau once again showed his skill on the right side of the field, crossing into the middle of the park with a body feint that stared his opponents in the face as if he had succeeded in stunting them to finish calmly. A second goal that gave a blow to Esperance Tunis. Dominated in all areas and unable to create real goal situations, the Sang et Or are scattered on the field chasing the ball rather than controlling it. The players of Al Ahly did not hesitate to kill any suspense. Shahat’s counter-attack was a model of its kind, and he fed striker Kahraba at the far post to dash the Tunisian hopes.
Percy Tau and Kahraba put @AlAhly ahead in the semi-final 1st leg! ⚡️ #TotalEnergiesCAFCL | #ESTASC pic.twitter.com/v3IqNS9Sd1
— TotalEnergies CAFCL – TotalEnergies CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) May 12, 2023
The great performance of Al Ahly away to Esperance Tunis allows the Egyptians to approach the second leg of the semi-finals with the greatest serenity. They have just put one foot in the final of the CAF Champions League and believe in an 11th continental title. For the Sang et Or, they will need to put in their best performance ever to have any hope of turning things around. In the national stadium in Cairo, few people will put a coin to such a scenario.
