Hope and heartache in the Champions League
The group stage of the CAF Champions League came to a conclusion with some shocks, some hammerings and plenty of beautiful football.
And then there were eight.
Yanga couldn’t get the all important goal, nervy Sundowns got it over the line, the Red Devils were beaten by Pirates on their own patch while goals galore were flying across the continent in the final round of the Champions League group stage.
Group A
In the only match of the round where it was a straight shootout to qualify out of the group, MC Alger knew they just need a point from Dar Es Salaam to progress, and they put on the perfect away performance to get that point.
The Algerians registered three shots (the only one on target coming from 40 yards out), 31% possession, less than half the passes of Yanga, and just five touches in Yanga’s box. On the flip-side, they almost doubled Yanga’s tackles, had 17 interceptions to Yanga’s seven and a whopping 46 clearances.
And while Yanga dominated the ball, they struggled to carve out clear-cut chances, relying on moments of magic from Stephane Aziz Ki, who to his credit, almost scored an outrageous goal from a tight angle. On the one occasion that they did get in behind the resolute Mouloudia defense, Clement Mzize’s tap in from six yards was heroically blocked by Ayoub Abdellaoui (who alone made 12 clearances).
In short, it was a defensive masterclass.
And that masterclass has put through Mouloudia into only their second Champions League knockout round since the group stage format was introduced. It signals perhaps end of a very slow rehabilitation period for Algeria’s oldest and biggest club that has been in the doldrums for much of the last fifty years. And no one will want to face them in the next round. Despite coming second to Al Hilal in the group, Mouloudia are a tough nut to crack. They only conceded two goals in the group stage and drew all three away games (0-0, 0-0, 1-1). That kind of solidity and travelling know-how will serve them very well, whoever they get in the next round.
The deadest of rubbers did in fact deliver some excitement, however meaningless, but for Mazembe there is a sense of pride restored.
The Congolese giants already were facing the ignominy of being the only ever first seeded team to come fourth in the group and were in line for further humiliation if they failed to register a single win in the group stage but a clinical performance that has been previously missing put the group winners to the sword.
For Al Hilal’s Congolese head coach Florent Ibenge, there will be big concerns around the sloppiness of defending that lead to the Sudanese giants being thrashed. They matched their rivals in possession, passing stats, shots and shots on target but were let down by slack defending, in particular the goals in open play that they conceded were very preventable. We’ve also seen Hilal reliant on individual quality throughout the group stage, in particular Jean-Claude Girumugisha has been a game changer.
Ibenge will have plenty to do, particularly as the club now has to make up the five games in hand they have in the Mauritanian top-flight where they have made their home during the Sudanese civil war. But given their circumstances as a homeless club, topping a tough group and advancing to the knockouts for the first time in ten years should still be considered the greatest footballing achievement on the continent this year.
Group B
The group of death delivered throughout and with Raja Casablanca breathing down their neck, a nervy Mamelodi Sundowns got over the line with the draw they needed in Pretoria to secure progress out of the group.
After Masandawa took the lead from Peter Shalilule header of a freekick, they completely dominated proceedings. In the first half they registered an astonishing 74% possession and restricted ASFAR to just one shot. But as the game wore on and news presumably filtered to the players that Raja were winning against 10-man Maniema Union, the nerves seemed to kick in. ASFAR, sensing blood, grew into the game and found their equaliser in the 83rd minute, Amine Zouhzouh finishing smartly from Youssef El Fahli’s low cross.
Sundowns were able to get across the line in the end but any sense of relief will likely be tempered by a frustration that they didn’t take advantage of their dominance to win the game and top the group.
They may not quite the tactically innovative side that could squeeze any team python-like with absolute possessional dominance, but Miguel Cardoso has introduced some more steel into the team. He will no doubt be delighted that their goal came from a set-piece, something he has spoken about extensively about improving since his arrival. Perhaps that steel in place of guile could serve them later in the tournament and help the South Africans claim their semi final hump and get that first title win since Pitso Mosimane’s great 2016 side.
There was always going to be one giant going out of this group and despite rallying in the second half of the group stage, it was Raja that pulled that short straw. The loss compounds a difficult season for the Moroccan champions. Earlier in 2024, club president Mohamed Boudrika was arrested in Germany. Boudrika was the third Raja president running into problems with the law. Both Mohamed Ouzzal and Aziz El Badraoui have been sentenced to prison time in the last few years.
That off field chaos has bled onto the field where the Eagles find themselves in eighth, a full 16 points behind league leaders RS Berkane. Add to that the fact that the club has been through four coaches this season alone and it’s easy to understand that they couldn’t get past ASFAR or Sundwons.
For Maniema, they will look back on this Champions League with pride. A first ever appearance in any continental competition through them into a horrifyingly tough group and they have held themselves with pride. They drew with all three teams and only lost once by more than a single goal.
The main goal will be to continue to progress under Papy Kimoto in the Congolese Linafoot where they are behind AS Vita by two points but with three games in hand in Group B.
Group C
At the beginning of the season I somewhat boldly claimed that Orlando Pirates could upset the odds and go onto win the Champions League. What I had in mind was a scrap with Belouizdad for second behind Al Ahly before grinding out some unlikely wins to bravely lose against Al Ahly in the final.
What I didn’t have on my bingo card was the Buccaneers denying their Egyptian rivals in South Africa before returning to Cairo to inflict a first defeat of the season on the African champions.
They certainly rode their luck at times; relying on an excellent goalkeeping performance from Sipho Chaine and some refereeing decisions that went their way, Pirates showed the tactical nous, resilience and individual flair to bolster my tentative early season faith in them.
We know they have some tremendous talent in the likes of Patrick Maswanganyi, Relebohile Mofokeng and Deon Hotto but Jose Riveiro has harnessed that talent in a tight defensive structure to make Pirates one of the teams to fear in the next round. Riveiro will be pleased that alongside those talents, it was the bench that made the difference in the second half with substitutes Kabelo Dlamini and Tshegofatso Mabasa connecting to score the winner.
Pirates still wont be favourites to win the whole thing, they have a bit of a glass jaw in defending set pieces and they still have some naivety as demonstrated in Al Ahly’s equaliser. Despite leading 1-0, Pirates players flooded forward to break only to loss the ball and be carved open in transition by a beautiful Karim El Debes pass. But despite being third seeded team that came top of the group, no one will want to be drawn against them in the second round.
For Marcell Koller and Al Ahly there is isn’t too much to dwell on. The team has been decimated by injuries like no other team on the continent. I don’t think any other team in Africa will ever be able to claim that they have two World Cup semi-finalists out with injury in the shape of Achraf Dari and Yahia Attiyat Allah let alone the host of others out like Ali Maâloul, Reda Slim and Taher Mohamed among others.
Koller will also point to the fact that the Red Devils dominated the majority of the game, racking up 23 shots to Pirates 5, creating four big chances, one strong penalty appeal and a harsh offside call in the last minute that denied captain Rami Rabia a spectacular last minute equaliser.
They are still unbeaten in the league and top of the table and can point to previous seasons like 22/23 where they came second in their group and still went onto win the league to give themselves encouragement. Al Ahly are still the team to beat but maybe their invulnerability has been chipped away at in the last couple of weeks.
After their 6-1 humbling at the hands of Al Ahly and in the knowledge that they were already out at kick off, a 6-0 win feels more like a palette cleanser for Belouizdad than anything else.
There is a good team there for the Algerian giants. Attacking talent is there in abundance with the likes of Aymen Mahious, Abderrahmane Bentahar and Mohamed Belkhir. Most teams on the continent would love to bring Khanyisa Mayo and Merouane Zerrouki off the bench. And in many ways Belouizdad were unlucky to be drawn in such a tough group but the reality is they have not shown the same spine that they have in recent years and that’s why they have continually qualified for the Champions League but failed to reach the latter stages.
Like fellow debutants Maniema Union, Stade d’Abidjan never had any expectations coming into the tournament. But with ASEC Mimosas struggling domestically of late, this might not be the last time we see Abidjan return to the continental stage.
Group D
Are Espérance back?
I know Sagrada are not the best opposition but a rotated Espérance side dispatched them with consummate ease and it looks like they are building something at the right time, with not only the Champions League in mind but also the Club World Cup coming up this summer.
They’ve made some good signings over the last year or so, bringing back Youcef Belaili, signing Togolese international Roger Ahoulou and South African Elias Mokwana to name a few. But perhaps the biggest boon for Romanian coach Laurentiu Reghecampf is the performance of striker Achref Jabri who was recalled from his loan at Algerian outfit ES Zarzis. Having only returned to the club a couple weeks ago, he bagged a hattrick on his first start.
While Jabri is unlikely to unseat Brazilian forward Rodrigo Rodrigues, having the competition and back up will no doubt help Taraji in their quest to reclaim the Champions League title.
Sagrada Esperanca on the other hand may be ruing their Champions League adventure. With Petro de Luanda back firing in the Angolan Girabola and the continental matches taking their toll, Sagrada have slipped to seven in the Girabola and already are 15 points of the Champions League spots.
Like Espérance, Pyramids exploits have perhaps gone under the radar because of the weaker opposition in the group but they could be another surprise package in the knockouts. Six different players scored in the rout against Malian side Djoliba, including former Stoke City and Huddersfield Town player Ramadan Sobhi.
The big question that may define how far Pyramids go in the Champions League is whether or not they can keep hold of Ibrahim Adel. The winger has been in terrific form for Pyramids this season and potentially should have left the club earlier in his career, despite still being only 23. With clubs like Rangers and Lens sniffing about and reports in Spain saying that Getafe have already agreed to take him on loan till the end of the season, it’s unlikely that Pyramids can keep a hold of him.
But with the financial backing that Pyramids have, it might be worth keeping onto a gem like Adel, in case he can be the difference maker and take them deep into the Champions League.
