Mosimane’s Al Ahly succumb to Wydad in CAFCL final

Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Wydad Casablanca in the final of the 2021-22 CAF Champions League, played at the Stade Mohamed V on Monday night.

A brace of goals from Zouheir El Moutaraji secured a third CAFCL crown for the Red Castle, adding to titles in 1992 and 2017.

Wydad Casablanca 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏/𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 #𝐓𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐂𝐀𝐅𝐂𝐋 in fine style with Zouhair El Moutaraji scoring one of the best goals in the tournament 🏆

📺 Watch CAF Champions League highlights here: https://t.co/f43Shlx450 pic.twitter.com/9yaH1DPPdE

— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) May 30, 2022

Mosimane and the Red Devils, meanwhile, missed out on making history: Ahly, who already have a record 10 Champions League titles to their name, were hoping to become the first club to win the competition three times in succession, while the South African tactician was unable to equal Manuel Jose’s record of four CAFCL titles as a coach.

The Portuguese won the continental tournament in 2001, 2005, 2006 and 2008 with Ahly, while Mosimane’s three triumphs have come with Mamelodi Sundowns in 2016 and Ahly in 2020 and 2021.

Wydad celebrated a third continental crown after triumphs in 1992 and 2017 as they denied Ahly a record third straight title after El Moutaraji scored his first with a thunderous long-range strike and grabbed a second from close range.

Ahly failed in a bid to have the match postponed and moved to a neutral territory after their appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport was turned down last week.

Ahly’s loss is more disappointment for Egyptian football in 2022 after the country were beaten by Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations final in Cameroon and then lost to the same team in the playoffs for a place at this year’s World Cup in Qatar.