Photo courtesy of Al Ahly SC
Egyptian international Mahmoud “Trezeguet” Hassan opened the scoring for the Red Devils, then Ahmed “Zizo” Sayed doubled the lead from the spot before the break, with newly-signed striker Marwan Othman sealing the win in the 67th minute.
Second-half substitute Ziad Osama pulled one back in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Ahly’s Danish coach Jess Thorup opted for the same starting line-up that claimed a 2-0 win over Tanzania’s Young Africans in the CAF Champions League group stage on Friday, with the exception of first-choice goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy.
The defending champions started on the offensive, pressing Wadi Degla in an attempt to grab an early lead, though they initially failed to create clear-cut scoring chances.
Six minutes into the first half, Trezeguet had a golden opportunity to open the scoring for Ahly when he received a pass on the left side of the box, but his shot from a difficult angle was saved by Degla goalie Amr Hossam.
Degla’s response came seven minutes later when Islam Kanu fired a right-footed shot from outside the box, forcing El-Shenawy to produce a brilliant save.
Despite Ahly’s continuous pressure, their forwards failed to threaten Wadi Degla’s goal due to a resilient and organised defence and the heroics of keeper Amr Hossam.
The breakthrough came in the 25th minute when defender Ahmed Ayman failed to clear Zizo’s cross, allowing the ball to reach Trezeguet, who dribbled past the goalie to score from close range.
The defending champions continued their pressure, but Wadi Degla’s defence rebuffed all their attempts.
Three minutes before the break, the VAR awarded Ahly a penalty following a foul on midfielder Emam Ashour inside the area, with Zizo stepping up and converted the penalty confidently one minute into stoppage time.
After the break, Degla started to press forward in an attempt to pull one back, but Ahly exploited their open defence with further scoring attempts.
Midfielder Emam Ashour came close to adding a third for Ahly in the 54th minute, but his thunderous strike from outside the area hit the woodwork.
Three minutes later, goalie Hossam came to the rescue again, saving Trezeguet’s header from point-blank range.
Seven minutes after the hour mark, Marwan Othman added the third for Ahly when he connected with Ashour’s brilliant cross with a header from very close range.
In the 69th minute, Thorup introduced Achraf Bencharki, Mohamed Shokry, and Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhan as replacements for Ashour, Kouka, and Dieng to maintain the tempo.
Ahly dominated possession but struggled to create further clear-cut opportunities. In the 74th minute, the Danish tactician introduced wingers Taher Mohamed and Hussein El-Shahat to freshen up the frontline.
In the 81st minute, Wadi Degla keeper Amr Hossam made two consecutive saves to deny Marwan Attia and Hussein El-Shahat.
Four minutes into injury time, Ziad Osama connected with a pass to fire a powerful shot past El-Shenawy.
With this result, Ahly remain in third place with 26 points, one point behind second-placed Pyramids FC and six behind leaders Ceramica Cleopatra, who have played one more game.
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