Weiler 'fully satisfied' with how Egyptian champions Ahly fared all season

Ahram Online , Saturday 19 Sep 2020

Rene Weiler

Despite a second straight draw that raised alarm bells ahead of an anticipated African Champions League semi-final clash, Ahly coach Rene Weiler said he was fully satisfied with how the newly-crowned Egyptian champions had fared all season.

The Red Devils wrapped up the title with six rounds to spare without kicking a ball on Friday, with Aswan's surprise 1-0 win over second-placed Zamalek giving them an unassailable 20-point lead on top.

But they produced another subdued performance to draw 0-0 with 10-man Maqassa on Saturday, which came on the heels of another goalless stalemate with Ittihad. Maqassa could have even snatched a famous win hadn't not been for a string of missed chances.

Ahly's defensive lapses will cause concern ahead of their anticipated two-legged duel with Morocco's Wydad next month but Weiler gave a good assessment of his team.

"In the first half of the season, we settled things in our favour after bagging a big number of points. In the second half, the gaps between the teams narrowed and we saw small teams beat bigger ones," the Swiss told the post-match news conference.

"Generally, I'm very satisfied with the whole season because we won the title with a big lead."

Ahly failed to make the most of their numerical advantage over Maqassa, who had defender Mahmoud Dabash dismissed after receiving a straight red card on 58 minutes.

"I was particularly worried that my players would lose concentration in this game because Ahly were crowned champions without playing," Weiler added.

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