10-man Al Ahly ease past Aigle Noir to march on in CAF Champions League

Despite playing most of the match with ten men, Al Ahly defeated Burundi’s Aigle Noir 1-0 in the second leg of the CAF Champions League round of 32 on Saturday to seal a 2-0 aggregate victory and book their place in the group stage.

The Red Eagles dominated possession from the outset, with Slovenian forward Nejc Gradisar twice going close to scoring following fine work by winger Ahmed Abdel-Kader.

Ahly were reduced to ten men just 15 minutes into the match when Gradisar was shown a red card by Senegalese referee Issa Sy after a challenge on an Aigle Noir defender.

Television replays suggested the decision was harsh, with minimal contact between the players. Despite the setback, Al Ahly continued to control the game and limited their opponents to few chances.

Midfielder Aliou Dieng nearly opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, heading narrowly wide from an Abdel-Kader cross.

The breakthrough came in the 59th minute when Tunisian midfielder Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane slipped a precise pass to Omar Kamal, who fired low into the net from inside the area to secure the win.

Coach Jess Thorup made several changes to maintain his side’s intensity, introducing Mahmoud “Trezeguet” Hassan and Mohamed Hani for Ben Romdhane and Abdel-Kader.

Moroccan winger Achraf Bencharki replaced Taher Mohamed, while Mohamed Shokry came on for Dieng late on as Thorup switched to a more compact 4-3-2 setup to protect the lead.

Aigle Noir pushed forward in the closing stages but failed to trouble Ahly’s defence.

The draw for the group stages of the CAF Champions League for the 2025-26 season will take place on 3 November in Johannesburg, South Africa.