Al Ahly nullifies ES Setif to reach third consecutive CAF Champions League final

Defending champions Al Ahly are just 90 minutes away from defending their 2021 crown after seeing off Algerian side ES Setif in the second semifinal of the CAF Champions League.

The Egyptian giants came into the second leg of the encounter with a healthy lead, after demolishing Setif by a 4-0 scoreline in the first leg at the Soweto Stadium last weekend.

Saturday's return leg at the Stade du 5 Juillet served up a 2-2 draw that saw Al Ahly advance to the final on a 6-2 aggregate scoreline over ES Setif.

Pitso Mosimane, Al Ahly see off ES Setif

Pitso Mosimane's Al Ahly traveled to the Algerian capital full of confidence with the South African tactician fully expecting to pick up the ticket to the showpiece match in Morocco.

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Despite this, Mosimane fielded a strong starting XI with first leg hero Percy Tau leading the attack once again.

Just two minutes into the tie, the former Brighton player marked his presence with an assist for Ahmed Abdelkader's second goal of the competition to put Al Ahly five goals up on aggregate.

ES Setif, though not expected to overturn a five-goal deficit, were not interested in folding up either and they finally got one goal back through Ahmed Kendouci in the 45th minute.

Al Ahly continue to dominate the CAF Champions League (IMAGO/Xinhua) Pulse Nigeria

When Riad Benayad put ES Setif up 2-1 on the night and 5-2 on aggregate in the 61st minute, there was a flicker of hope that a late comeback might be on the cards in Algiers.

However, Mosimane reacted well by bringing on two defensive players in Mohamed Magdy Afsha and Rami Rabia in place of Abdelkader and Hussein El Shahat to close out the game.

The defending champions kept the marauding Setif attack at bay for the remainder of the half before a rare Al Ahly offensive saw Mohamed Sharif convert another Tau assist to ensure that the Egyptian giants remained unbeaten in the knockout phase.

Al Ahly on track for record 3rd consecutive CFA Champions League title

Al Ahly will now compete in their third CAF Champions League final in as many years in a yet-to-be-disclosed stadium in Morocco.

The Mosimane-led side are also gunning for an unprecedented third consecutive CAF Champions League trophy having been crowned Champions in 2020 and 2021.

Al Ahly won the 2021 CAF Champions League IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

The Egyptian side twice came close to setting the record in 2006 and 2018 but both times failed to win the elusive third consecutive Champions League trophy.

This year, the Egyptian giants will be up against Wydad Casablanca in the final with Wydad enjoying considerable home advantage after CAF announced the final match will be hosted in Morocco last week.

Al Ahly are record winners of the CAF Champions League with 10 titles to their name while Wydad Casablanca are two-time African champions courtesy of triumphs in 1992 and 2017.