Two goals by veteran midfielder Walid Soliman’s brace and a strike from Amr Al-Sulaya saw Al-Ahly beat ES Tunis in the first leg final of the CAF Champions League played at the Borg El-Arab Stadium on Friday.
Although the Egyptian side have given themselves a chance at victory, they, however, need to maintain their lead in the second leg of the final next week.
Surprisingly, all the goals came from the penalty spot, with Soliman putting two goals past the Tunisians bringing his tally to four goals in three games for Al-Ahly, who are now close to claiming a ninth Champions League title.
Predictably, the match was not without drama with Soliman starting as a threat for the visitors, forcing Esperance goalkeeper Moez Ben Cherifia to make a brilliant save, before putting Al-Ahly ahead from the penalty spot.
Esperance then attempted to get back into the game, but Al-Sulaya doubled his side’s advantage. However, Algeria’s Mohamed Belaili pulled one back to reduce the deficit.
Nonetheless, Soliman was again on target from the spot with just over 10 minutes left on the clock, making sure Al-Ahly held on to a two goal advantage.
