Palestinian striker Oday Dabbagh scored the lone goal for Zamalek on Tuesday to put the team on the verge of winning the Egyptian Premier League title.
The goal, scored against Smouha in the 62nd minute, gave Zamalek 53 points with one game left.
Zamalek need only draw their last game of the season to capture their first league crown since 2022. A win for Pyramids would be futile because Zamalek have the better head-to-head record.
Also on Tuesday, Pyramids FC lost ground in the tournament after drawing 1-1 with Ceramica Cleopatra. The tie, which Pyramids came from behind to level, left Pyramids in second place, two points behind frontrunners Zamalek and just one point ahead of third place defending champions Ahly who brushed aside Enppi 3-0.
All three penultimate games were played at 8pm Cairo time to help avert match fixing.
The results of the three matches did not produce an outright winner. That accolade will be determined not before the final day with the final whistle.
The final and deciding day of the season, Friday 15 May, pits Pyramids against Smouha and Ahly vs Masri. The Zamalek-Ceramica clash was postponed due to Zamalek’s second leg match on 16 May in Cairo against USM Alger in the final of the African Confederation Cup.
None of the top three teams need to play each other on the last day; those confrontations have already taken place. But they do have to meet teams that have nothing to lose besides acting as spoilers.
What got the league going down to the wire were the results of last Friday, 1 May, led by Ahly’s 3-0 shutout of Zamalek and Pyramids FC coming back to beat Enppi 3-2 earlier in the day.
In the famed derby in Cairo International Stadium on Friday night, striker Achraf Bencharki scored twice and set up another and defender Hossam Abdel-Meguid had an atrocious day as Ahly trounced Zamalek to make the title contest even closer. Both sides missed penalties in the second half.
Strangely enough, it was Zamalek that started brightly. Palestinian winger Oday Dabbagh and forward Nasser Mansi both had shots that went wide.
Ahly were not going to wait for Zamalek to be third time lucky. In the 17th minute, Abdel-Meguid made an errant clearance in the penalty area after being unable to control the ball which went to Taher Mohamed Taher whose cross was headed home to the left side by the unmarked Moroccan Bencharki, a former Zamalek star who after the match was easily selected its MVP. In deference to his ex-team, he refused to celebrate.
Bencharki could have doubled the lead in the 26th minute when his close-range stab beat Zamalek keeper Al-Mahdi Suleiman but Abdel-Meguid cleared off the line. In that instance, Abdel-Meguid saved a sure goal but his evening was far from done in this derby No 132.
Five minutes later Ahly made it 2-0 when Abdel-Meguid, under no pressure whatsoever, made an awkward pass in front of his goal that was stolen by Bencharki who sidestepped one defender before splitting the defence, for Hussein Al-Shahat to calmly chip the ball over a charging Suleiman.
Zamalek could have gotten back into the game in the 55th minute when rookie Hadi Riyad brought down left back Mahmoud Bentayeg inside the area. However, Mustafa Shobeir guessed right when he dived right to deny Abdel-Meguid whose stuttering steps in the build-up produced a soft shot from the spot.
Ahly were now swarming the Zamalek goal seeking to put the game to bed. In minute 61 Suleiman came out to block a certain breakaway goal.
Ahly still had a chance to put the game away in the 65th minute but Mahmoud ‘Trezeguet’ Hassan’s penalty banged off the left post after German referee Matthias Jöllenbeck, who also works as an orthopedic surgeon, awarded Ahly a spot kick for a handball by Mohamed Shehata which was reviewed by VAR.
Trezeguet could have made amends a minute later when he was alone in the box but took too long to shoot before being denied.
Ahly’s third goal arrived in the 74th minute after midfielder Emam Ashour set up Bencharki in the area who somehow managed to slip the ball past one defender and the keeper for his second on the night. It was his fourth goal in four matches against Zamalek since joining the title holders.
Zamalek’s best chance besides the penalty was a header by sub Seifeddine Jaziri with six minutes to go that Shobeir blocked with his feet from close range and safely cleared away by Ahmed “Beckham” Ramadan.
It was a resounding statement victory for Ahly who, just four days earlier, had been on the wrong side of a 3-0 rout by Pyramids.
Ahly have now completed a league double over Zamalek this season, having won the reverse fixture 2-1. They also lifted the Egyptian Super Cup with a 2-0 victory in November 2025.
Ahly’s Danish coach Jess Thorup, who is on the hot seat following many poor performances, had nothing but praise for his club after Friday’s masterful show against Zamalek as they seek a record-extending 46th league title.
“We played with discipline,” Thorup said. “I told the players before the match that they had to make their fans proud, and that fighting spirit is what they showed.
“We achieved a deserved win over Zamalek. The players performed at a high level and I thank them for their effort,” Thorup told the post-match press conference.
“We prepared well for the game in recent days and that showed on the pitch,” he added.
“The supporters played an important role in this win.”
Meantime, Zamalek coach Motamed Gamal insisted his side will fight until the end of the Egyptian Premier League season.
“We played a bad game against Ahly, and the result was even worse. We didn’t expect this outcome, but that’s football,” Gamal said in the post-match press conference.
“We made too many mistakes. We controlled the midfield from the start, but with Ahly’s first real attacking move, they scored, and that affected us for the remainder of the match,” he added.
“We have felt pressure since the start of the league. We must put today’s loss behind us, as there are still six points to secure the title,” Gamal said.
“We will stay strong and fight until the end.”
Gamal’s do-or-die attitude will be greatly needed now that the standings have become as close as ever following Ahly’s win and Pyramids edging Enppi 3-2 the same day, all the latter’s goals coming in the first half.
Enppi, who are out of contention, took the lead in the Air Defence Stadium in the 10th minute. However, Pyramids tied it just seven minutes later.
Pyramids, who earlier in the year were knocked off their perch as the kings of African football, took the lead in the 27th minute. But Enppi bounced right back before half time.
Just as it seemed both sides would head into the break on equal terms, Pyramids struck again for a lead they would not relinquish.
Pyramids’ goals were scored by Awda Al-Fakhouri in the 17th minute, Mustafa Ziko in the 27th minute, and Ziko again in the 45+2 minute.
As for Enppi’s goals, they were scored by Oktay Abdullah in the 10th minute and Ali Mahmoud in the 38th minute from the spot.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 7 May, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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