Eight-Time African champions, Al Ahly will face Wydad Casablanca of Morocco next month in the final of the CAF Champions League final.
In an extraordinary semi-final game decided at Alexandria on Sunday night, Ahly spanked Etoile Sportive du Sahel 6-2 to qualify 7-4 on aggregate for the final for a record eleventh time and the first since 2013.
Tunisia’s Etoile had won the first leg tie in Sousse 2-1 before they were humiliated by the Hossam El Badry-side on Sunday night.
Left back Ali Maaloul opened the scoring for the hosts after just two minutes through a cunningly floated free-kick.
Moroccan under-fire striker Walid Azaro took the game away from Etoile with two carbon-copy headers to give the homers a 3-0 halftime lead.
Azaro completed his hat-trick with a simple finish early in the second half, but Etoile got a lifeline when Rami Bedoui pulled one back shortly after.
However, Ahly ran roughshod over their opponents with a fortuitous own goal from Hamdi Nagguez and a blistering shot from central defender Rami Rabia to go 6-1 up before Ihab Msakni netted a stoppage-time consolation for Etoile.
Four years ago, Al Ahly beat South Africa’s Orlando Pirates in the final as they successfully defended the title they had won 12 months earlier.
Sunday’s game was played in front of around 40,000 fans in Alexandria, which boosted Al Ahly since many matches in Egypt are played behind closed doors for security reasons.
Wydad also at the weekend defeated USM Alger of Algeria 3-1 on Saturday to qualify for the final of the glamorous competition by the same aggregate scoreline.
The first leg of the final will be played on the weekend of 27-29 October, with the return leg on 3-5 November.
Whoever wins will represent Africa in FIFA’s Club World Cup in Japan in December.
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