At the Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca, Morocco
Wydad Athletic Club (Wydad Casablanca) was yesterday crowned the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League winners after humbling Egypt’s Al Ahly 2 – 0.
They dominated long periods of the game but Wydad, played smart, defended and absorbed the Egyptian giants’ pressure superbly, and stepped up their intensity at the start of both halves to earn the decisive goals in critical phases of the game.
A brace from Zouheir El-Moutaraji in the 15th and 48th minutes was enough to secure Wydad their third Champions League title after successes in 1992 and 2017.
Ahly and their coach Pitso Mosimane were left disappointed in their quest for a record-breaking third successive Champions League title and 11th overall.
“The better team was the one who lost tonight. When you play at a neutral ground with equal fan attendance from both sides then you can talk about winning or losing. I think everyone who took this decision is happy now.
Everyone is speaking about the starting line-up when we lost the match, but I would like to say that we defeated Raja with the same starting line-up (in the quarterfinals in Cairo). Also, everyone knows that Amr El Solia is injured which is why he did not play from the beginning of the game.
The referee took three minutes to replace his watch. Also, the ball boys took a lot of time to bring the balls back to the players, and that was a normal thing to happen, especially when you play at Wydad’s ground. Eventually, it was normal that Wydad to win the title.
I do not know how anyone can say that the Caf Champions League final was well organized. I think the Moroccans are the only ones who said that,” said Mosimane.
Prior to yesterday’s match, Ahly had taken CAF’s choice of Stade Mohamed V to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAF) seeking a neutral venue but lost the case.
