Al Ahly v Sundowns rivalry continues

Al Ahly and Mamelodi Sundowns have wasted no time in developing an absorbing rivalry that plays out its latest chapter in Cairo on Saturday night (kick-off 9pm SA time) when the pair meet in the group phase of the African Champions League.

For a second successive season, the two clubs have been draw together in the group phase of the continent’s top club competition and go into the clash at the Cairo International Stadium in contrasting form.

Sundowns have again got off to a winning start with six points from their opening pair of Group B matches but Al Ahly have been much slower out of the starting blocks.

Their opening Group B game at home to CotonSport of Cameroon was postponed while they were still competing at the Club World Cup and then they went straight from Morocco to Sudan where Al Hilal beat them 1-0 last weekend.

It ensures they will be a dangerous proposition for Sundowns to have to contend with.

It will be the 13th time the two clubs meet. SuperSport.com takes you through the 12 previous clashes

Mamelodi Sundowns 1 Al Ahly 1 (December 8, 2001)
The first leg of the 2001 African Champions league final was played at Loftus Versfeld. Gift Kampamba gave the home side a first half lead, but Sayed Abdel Hafeez equalised for Ahly.

Ahly 3 Sundowns 0 (December 21, 2001)
An extraordinary game in the second leg of the Champions League final. Sundowns dominated possession at the Cairo International Stadium and were by far the more attacking outfit but got picked off by the brilliance of home striker Khaled Bebo’s. Sundowns conceded a penalty in the 37th minute, and Bebo added one more on the stroke of halftime and then a third in stoppage time at the end of the game. Sundowns were given warm applause by the Ahly fans when the picked up their runners-up medals.

Sundowns 2 Ahly 2 (April 7, 2007)
Mohamed Barakat and Flávio put Ahly 2-0 up in the first leg of this third round tie and they seemed certain for a first win on South African soil, before Oscar Ntwagae and José Torrealba both scored in the final 11 minutes to rescue the draw for Sundowns. But it meant the Brazilians were poorly placed in their bid to try and qualify for the group phase, needing to go to Cairo a fortnight later and win.

Ahly 2 Sundowns 0 (April 20, 2007)
It came as no surprise that Ahly won the second leg 2-0 to go through 4-2 on aggregate. But it did take them until the 68th minute at the Cairo International Stadium to score after Benson Mhlongo tripped Mohamed Barakat and Shady Mohamed tucked the resultant penalty. Mohamed Aboutrika added one mote for good measure 10 minutes later.

Sundowns 5 Ahly 0 (April 6, 2019)
Arguably the greatest game ever played by a South African club as they demolished Ahly in a quarterfinal first leg fixture that sent shockwaves through African football. The Brazilians were simply imperious on the day as Themba Zwane, Wayne Arendse, Ricardo Nascimento (penalty) , Gaston Sirino and Phakamani Mahlambi were all on target. It was the heaviest defeat Ahly had suffered in some 80 odds years and the making of Pitso Mosimane as an international coach.

Ahly 1 Sundowns 0 (April 13, 2019)
This result did not matter, because Sundowns had handed Ahly a sobering footballing lesson in Atteridgeville the week before. Only the most ardent of Ahly fans believed their side could overturn the deficit at Alexandria’s Borg El Arab Stadium and Sundowns were never in any danger of a collapse that might offer Ahly a glimmer of home. A consolation win was secured by a goal in the last 20 minutes from Walid Azaro.

Ahly 2 Sundowns 0 (29 February, 2020)
Sundowns had won their group ahead of Wydad Casablanca while Ahly were runners-up to Etoile Sahel and therefore had to host the first leg of the quarterfinal tie. It was the last trip by a South African club before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and a harsh lesson at the Cairo International Stadium as fullback Ali Maaloul scored twice in the space of 12 minutes in the second half to hand Mosimane and his men a juddering jolt of realism.

Sundowns 1 Ahly 1 (7 March, 2020)
Sundowns could not get back into the tie though as a Lebo Maboe own goal left them needing to score four times. Sirino did find an equaliser to salvage some pride. But Ahly advanced 3-1 on aggregate to the semifinal, which was then postponed by the pandemic and only competed six months later with Mosimane by then having switched employers and gone to become Al Ahly boss.

Ahly 2 Sundowns 0 (15 May, 2021)
A third year in a row that the two clubs drew each other in the last eight, with the Egyptians again having to play the first leg at home because they did not top their group, finishing runners-up to surprise package Simba. No matter, as Ahly took it up a notch and handed Mosimane a win over his old employer at the Al Salam Stadium. Taher Mohamed and Salah Mohsen scored on either side of the break while Gift Motupa and Musa Lebusa both came close for The Brazilians. A Denis Onyango error allowed Ahly to double the score

Sundowns 1 Ahly 1 (22 May, 2021)
Another uphill task for Manqoba Mngqithi and Rulani Mokoena against their old boss Mosimane and once again Ahly took the lead in Pretoria through Yasser Ibrahim but Mosa Lebusa equalised for Sundowns. But Sundowns never looked capable of adding to the scoresheet and bundling out the Egyptians, who would go on and beat Kaizer Chiefs 3-0 in the final.

Ahly 0 Sundowns 1 (26 February, 2022)
Finally a first ever goal for Sundowns in Cairo and a first ever win as Thapelo Morena slammed in from a difficult angle on the right. Hashim Domingo’s chip had been cleared but straight to Peter Shalulile, who chested down the ball and fed Morena for a blistering strike that gave Mohamed El Shenawy no chance. This made it three out of three in Group A

Sundowns 1 Ahly 0 (12 March, 2022)
The game was hosted at Soccer City because Loftus Versfeld had too many Vodacom signs, which clashed with the Champions League’s sponsor. Shalulile scored after 23 minutes for the victory and Sundowns would go on and break the record for the most points in group competition with 16 out of a possible 18. But again they crashed out in the quarterfinals, this time to Petro Atletico of Angola.