There was Bayern Munich in 2020 (0-2), Palmeiras in 2021 (0-2) and therefore Real Madrid this year. For the third consecutive time, Al Ahly were eliminated in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup on Wednesday in Rabat, Morocco.
If the Cairo giant fell heavily against Merengue (1-4), the scoreboard absolutely does not reflect the scenario of the match. For a long time indeed, the Red Devils posed big problems at the Casa Blanca and it took a failed intervention by central defender Metwaly to allow Vinicius to open the scoring before the break and then another moment of apathy on the part of from the Egyptian defense to facilitate the KO goal scored by Ernesto Valverde after returning from the locker room. Facing the Liga cador, Marcel Koller’s men did not give up and the Tunisian Ali Maaloul scored the goal of hope from the penalty spot (64e).
Al Ahly had two balls of 2-2…
Afsha, author of a huge miss at the penalty spot, and Taher, whose header was superbly diverted by Lunin, even came close to 2-2 during an endgame which saw the Red Devils grow enormously. But the finalists of the last African Champions League ended up completely cracking at the end. If El-Shenawy delayed the deadline against Modric on penalty (87e), Rodrygo and Arribas sealed the game in added time. This result will leave some regrets for Al Ahly, which nevertheless confirms its consistency at the highest level and its status as the only African club capable of competing against teams from other continents at the moment. The record holder of coronations in the African Champions League (10 titles) will try to win a 3 on Saturdaye consecutive bronze medal against Flamengo.
Our Eagles for tonight 💪🏻🦅#ClubWC#YallaYaAhly pic.twitter.com/As5PGyACfP
— Al Ahly SC 🇬🇧 (@AlAhlyEnglish) February 8, 2023
