2018 CAF Champions League Final

The 2018 CAF Champions League Final was the final of the 2018 CAF Champions League, the 54th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 22nd edition under the current CAF Champions League title.

2018 CAF Champions League Final
Radès Olympic Stadium hosted the podium where ES Tunis lifted the trophy
Event2018 CAF Champions League
Al-Ahly Espérance de Tunis
3 4
on aggregate
First leg
Al-Ahly Espérance de Tunis
3 1
Date2 November 2018 (2018-11-02)
VenueBorg El Arab Stadium, Alexandria
RefereeMehdi Abid Charef (Algeria)
Attendance60,000
WeatherPartly Cloudy
23 °C (73 °F)
Second leg
Espérance de Tunis Al-Ahly
3 0
Date9 November 2018 (2018-11-09)
VenueStade Olympique de Radès, Radès
RefereeBamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia)
Attendance60,000

The final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Al-Ahly from Egypt and Espérance de Tunis from Tunisia. The first leg was hosted by Al-Ahly on 2 November 2018, while the second leg was hosted by Espérance de Tunis at the Stade Olympique de Radès in Radès on 9 November 2018.

Espérance de Tunis won the final 4–3 on aggregate for their third CAF Champions League title.[1][2] As winners, they earned the right to represent the CAF at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup, entering at the second round, as well as play in the 2019 CAF Super Cup against the winner of the 2018 CAF Confederation Cup.[3]

Teams

In the following table, finals until 1996 were in the African Cup of Champions Club era, since 1997 were in the CAF Champions League era.

Team Zone Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Al-Ahly UNAF (North Africa) 11 (1982, 1983, 1987, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2017)
Espérance de Tunis UNAF (North Africa) 6 (1994, 1999, 2000, 2010, 2011, 2012)

Background

Al-Ahly are the most successful club in Egypt and Africa with eight titles, winning eight (1982, 1987, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013) and losing three (1983, 2007, 2017). Al-Ahly were playing their twelfth and second consecutive final.[4]

Espérance de Tunis had reached the final six times before, more than any other Tunisian side, winning two (1994, 2011) and losing four (1999, 2000, 2010, 2012). Espérance de Tunis were playing their seventh final and the first since 2012.[4]

The two sides had previously played 18 matches in African competitions. The first meetings between the two sides took place in the 1990 African Cup of Champions Clubs round of 16, where Espérance de Tunis beat Al-Ahly on penalties after the home and away matches ended 0–0. The most recent meetings between the clubs had taken place in the 2018 CAF Champions League group stage, where Al-Ahly's home match ended 0–0, and then Espérance de Tunis lost 0–1 at home to Al-Ahly on a Walid Azaro goal.[5]

Venues

Borg El Arab Stadium
Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt hosted the first leg.

The Borg El Arab Stadium is a stadium commissioned in 2006 in the Mediterranean Sea resort of Borg El Arab; 25 km west of Alexandria, Egypt. It is the largest stadium in Egypt and the second largest in Africa (after FNB Stadium in Johannesburg) with a capacity of 86,000[6] and is an all-seater. It is also the 27th largest stadium in the world, and the 9th largest association football stadium in the world. It is located on the Cairo-Alexandria desert highway 10 km from Borg El Arab Airport and 15 km from Alexandria's city centre. A running track runs around the pitch, and the ground has four large floodlights. Only one stand is covered by a roof.

The stadium is 145 feddans, is surrounded by a fence which is 3 km long, an internal road network its long is 6 km, a parking lot which could fit 5000 cars and 200 bus beside an airstrip, there are 136 electronic entrances. The main cabin is covered by an umbrella which covers 35% of the stadium total area, and it is considered the biggest umbrella in the Middle East. Its length is 200 m, its dimension is 60 m and its area is 12,000 m2, which is equal to 3 feddans.

The stadium is air-conditioned and that condition includes the clothes chambers, the salons and entrances, also the stadium includes 8 elevators for broadcasters, handicapped, services and important persons. There are 2 sub-stadiums for training and each ground can hold 2000 spectators, includes 2 locker rooms and a stadium for Athletics. The stadium also includes a hotel for 200 guests which is air-conditioned and has a swimming pool, gym and a department building which contains 80 people. The stadium includes a building which contains 300 presses. This building includes cabinets for broadcasters, entrances for emergency, ambulance cars, 39 and cafeterias, 337 bathrooms which classified to 33 bathrooms for women and 8 bathrooms for the handicapped.

Stade Olympique de Radès
Stade Olympique de Radès in Radès, Tunisia hosted the second leg.

The Stade Olympique de Radès is a multi-purpose stadium in Radès, Tunisia about 10 kilometers south-east of the city center of Tunis, in the center of the Olympic City. It is currently used mostly for football matches and it also has facilities for athletics. The stadium holds 60,000 and was built in 2001 for the 2001 Mediterranean Games and is considered to be one of the best stadiums in Africa. The stadium was built for the 2001 Mediterranean Games, the 60,000-seat covered area covers 13,000 m2 and consists of a central area, 3 adjoining grounds, 2 warm-up rooms, 2 paintings and an official stand of 7,000 seats. The press gallery is equipped with 300 desks.

Road to the final
Further information: 2018 CAF Champions League

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Al-Ahly Round Espérance de Tunis
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Qualifying rounds Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Bye Preliminary round ASAC Concorde 6–1 1–1 (A) 5–0 (H)
CF Mounana 7–1 4–0 (H) 3–1 (A) First round Gor Mahia 1–0 0–0 (A) 1–0 (H)
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
Espérance de Tunis 0–0 (H) Matchday 1 Al-Ahly 0–0 (A)
KCCA 0–2 (A) Matchday 2 Township Rollers 4–1 (H)
Township Rollers 3–0 (H) Matchday 3 KCCA 3–2 (H)
Township Rollers 1–0 (A) Matchday 4 KCCA 1–0 (A)
Espérance de Tunis 1–0 (A) Matchday 5 Al-Ahly 0–1 (H)
KCCA 4–3 (H) Matchday 6 Township Rollers 0–0 (A)
Group A winner
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Al-Ahly 6 13
2 Espérance de Tunis 6 11
3 KCCA 6 6
4 Township Rollers 6 4
Source: CAF
 Final standings Group A runner-up
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Al-Ahly 6 13
2 Espérance de Tunis 6 11
3 KCCA 6 6
4 Township Rollers 6 4
Source: CAF
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout stage Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Horoya 4–0 0–0 (A) 4–0 (H) Quarter-finals Étoile du Sahel 3–1 2–1 (H) 1–0 (A)
ES Sétif 3–2 2–0 (H) 1–2 (A) Semi-finals 1º de Agosto 4–3 0–1 (A) 4–2 (H)

Format

The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs determined by the knockout stage draw, which was held on 3 September 2018, 20:00 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[7][8][9]

If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still tied, extra time would not be played, and the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner.[3]

Matches

First leg
Al-Ahly 3–1 Espérance de Tunis
 Report
Attendance: 60,000
Al-Ahly
Espérance de Tunis
GK16 Mohamed El Shenawy
RB24 Ahmed Fathy 22'
CB20 Saad Samir 49'
CB3 Salif Coulibaly
LB12 Ayman Ashraf
RM17 Ahmed Hamoudi 67'
CM25 Hossam Ashour (c)
CM14 Amr El Solia
LM5 Islam Mohareb
AM11 Walid Soliman
CF9 Walid Azaro
Substitutes:
GK1 Sherif Ekramy
DF6 Sabri Raheel
DF30 Mohamed Hany 87' 22'
MF2 Karim Walid
MF27 Mohamed Gaber 67'
FW18 Marwan Mohsen
FW29 Salah Mohsen
Manager:
Patrice Carteron
GK1 Moez Ben Cherifia
RB22 Sameh Derbali 81'
CB5 Chamseddine Dhaouadi 18'
CB12 Khalil Chemmam (c)
LB26 Houcine Rabii
CM15 Fousseny Coulibaly
CM30 Franck Kom 83'
CM25 Ghailene Chaalali
RW8 Anice Badri
CF29 Taha Yassine Khenissi 80'
LW11 Youcef Belaïli
Substitutes:
GK19 Rami Jridi
DF2 Ali Machani
DF24 Iheb Mbarki
DF27 Mohamed Ali Yacoubi
MF18 Saad Bguir
MF28 Mohamed Amine Meskini
FW9 Bilel Mejri 80'
Manager:
Moïne Chaâbani

Assistant referees:[10]
Abdelhak Etchiali (Algeria)
Jean Claude Birumushahu (Burundi)
Fourth official:
Eric Otogo-Castane (Gabon)
Video assistant referee:
Bakary Gassama (Gambia)
Assistant video assistant referees:
El Hadji Samba (Senegal)
Djibril Camara (Senegal)

Match rules[3]

  • 90 minutes.
  • Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.

Statistics

Second leg
Espérance de Tunis 3–0 Al-Ahly
 Report
Attendance: 60,000
Espérance de Tunis
Al-Ahly
GK1 Moez Ben Cherifia 89'
RB22 Sameh Derbali
CB27 Mohamed Ali Yacoubi
CB12 Khalil Chemmam (c)
LB20 Ayman Ben Mohamed
CM15 Fousseny Coulibaly 25'
CM25 Ghailene Chaalali
RW8 Anice Badri
AM18 Saad Bguir 62'
LW11 Youcef Belaïli 80'
CF29 Taha Yassine Khenissi 69'
Substitutes:
GK19 Rami Jridi
DF2 Ali Machani
DF24 Iheb Mbarki
DF26 Houcine Rabii 62'
MF28 Mohamed Amine Meskini 80'
FW9 Bilel Mejri 90+2' 69'
FW14 Haythem Jouini
Manager:
Moïne Chaâbani
GK16 Mohamed El Shenawy
RB30 Mohamed Hany 62'
CB20 Saad Samir
CB3 Salif Coulibaly
LB12 Ayman Ashraf
CM25 Hossam Ashour (c)
CM14 Amr El Solia 75'
RW11 Walid Soliman 25'
AM27 Mohamed Gaber 62'
LW5 Islam Mohareb
CF18 Marwan Mohsen
Substitutes:
GK1 Sherif Ekramy
DF6 Sabri Raheel
MF2 Karim Walid 62'
MF10 Nasser Maher
MF17 Ahmed Hamoudi 75'
MF22 Akram Tawfik
FW29 Salah Mohsen 62'
Manager:
Patrice Carteron

Assistant referees:[13]
Zakhele Thusi Siwela (South Africa)
Waleed Ahmed Ali (Sudan)
Fourth official:
Eric Otogo-Castane (Gabon)
Video assistant referee:[14]
Bakary Gassama (Gambia)
Assistant video assistant referees:
El Hadji Samba (Senegal)
Djibril Camara (Senegal)

Match rules[3]

Statistics

See also

References
  1. "Soliman slots VAR penalties to give Ahly Champions League final edge". CAF. 5 November 2018.
  2. "Bguir unlikely star as Esperance win CAF Champions League". CAF. 9 November 2018.
  3. "CAF Champions League regulations" (PDF). CAF.
  4. "12th final for Ahly, 7th for Esperance". CAF. 31 October 2018.
  5. "Ahly v Esperance: Head to Head Results". CAF. 31 October 2018.
  6. "The boys are ready", Al-Ahram Weekly, Al-Ahram Publishing House (965), 17–23 September 2009, archived from the original on 10 October 2010, retrieved 6 June 2010
  7. "Draw Procedure of the 22nd Edition of Total CAF Champions League, CL 2018" (PDF). CAF. 2 September 2018.
  8. "CAF Champions League 2018 DRAW". YouTube. 3 September 2018.
  9. "Total CAF Champions League 2018 Draw". CAF.
  10. @CAF_Online (1 November 2018). "Here are the Referees of #TotalCAFCLfinal 1st leg between @AlAhly Vs @EsperanceST" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. https://www.sofascore.com/al-ahly-esperance-tunis/kNcsDRy
  12. https://www.sofascore.com/al-ahly-esperance-tunis/kNcsDRy
  13. "22nd Edition of Total CAF Champions League: Media start list" (PDF). CAFonline.com. Confederation of African Football. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  14. https://refereesfifa.blogspot.com/2018/11/2018-caf-champions-league-final.html
  15. https://www.sofascore.com/al-ahly-esperance-tunis/kNcsDRy
  16. https://www.sofascore.com/al-ahly-esperance-tunis/kNcsDRy
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