Tunisia’s giants Esperance de Tunis kicked off their group stage campaign with a precious 2-0 away win over Nigeria’s Sunshine Stars in the African Champions League on Sunday.

Esperance forward Youssef Msakni, who is set to join Qatari side Lekhwiya next January for an Arab record transfer fee of $15 million, opened the scoring after 20 minutes.

Cameroonian striker Ndjeng-Joseph Yannick wrapped up the win on the stroke of halftime with a blistering shot.

"The best is yet to come. We will get even better when our suspended players return in the next games," Esperance coach Nabil Maaloul told Al-Jazeera Sports channel following the game.

"The match was difficult, but we still managed to win, thanks to the determination and concentration of the players, who didn't have sufficient time to train in Nigeria," he added.

Esperance are on top of Group A with three points, ahead of second-placed Etoile Sahel on goal difference after their compatriots defeated Algeria’s Olympie Chlef 1-0 away from home on Saturday.

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