Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly, booked their spot in the knock-out stage of the 2023/24 CAF Champions League following the conclusion of its group stages on Saturday, www.aclsports.com reports.
Egypt’s Al Ahly, who are the defending champions of the competition, defeated Young Africans of Tanzania 1-0 in Egypt on Friday to seal the top spot in Group D. The Red Devils’ only goal of the match came from Hussein El-Shahat in the 46th minute, securing all three points at stake for the Egyptians.
In the other group game, Algerian side Belouizdad defeated Medeama of Ghana 3-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Algiers. Despite the emphatic victory, Belouizdad’s journey and that of the Ghanaians came to an end. Abdelraouf Benguit opened the scoring for Belouizdad in the 27th minute, followed by Lionel Nampé in the 42nd minute. In the second half, Lamine Jalou added the third goal in the 84th minute.
Meanwhile, AFL champions, Sundowns, also beat TP Mazembe 1-0 in Pretoria to secure top spot in group A at the expense of the Congolese side. A first-half penalty by Namibian striker Peter Shalulile was enough to earn the three points for Sundowns and avenge their loss to the visitors earlier in the campaign.
Cote d’Ivoire’s ASEC Mimosas took top spot in Group B ahead of Simba of Tanzania and 2022 CAF Champions League winners Wydad Casablanca. In the final group games, Wydad defeated ASEC 1-0 in Casablanca, but Simba’s 6-0 drubbing of Jwaneng Galaxy and their better head-to-head record against the Moroccans sent the East African club through.
It was a bit straightforward in Group C with Petro Atletico (Angola) and Esperance (Tunisia) marching on as first and second respectively.
In the draw for the quarter-finals, the four group winners will be seeded, and the four group runners-up will be unseeded. The seeded teams will be drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group could not be drawn against each other, while teams from the same association could be drawn against each other.
Image credit: CAF Media
