Mazembe won the African Champions League last year but were eliminated at the last-16 stage this term (Reuters)
Holders TP Mazembe of the DR Congo were eliminated from the African Champions League round of 16 despite after they could only draw 1-1 at home to Morocco's Wydad Casablanca on Wednesday.
Defender Salif Coulibaly gave Mazembe hope that they can overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit when he put them ahead on 28 minutes.
However, the hosts could not score a crucial second that would have leveled the aggregate score and Wydad killed off any hopes they had when Reda El Hajhouj struck in stoppage time.
Mazembe will now be demoted to the second-tier African Confederation Cup.
They were crowned African champions for a fifth time when they overcame USM Alger in a two-legged final last year.
Wydad won their only title in 1992 and were runners up in 2011 after losing to Tunisia's Esperance in the final.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link: