Egyptian giants, Al Ahly have defeated fellow rivals Zamalek 2-1 to become nine-time champions of the CAF Champions League in Cairo on Friday night.

Ahly secured a dream start when Amr El Sulya hit the net with a fine header in the near post as early as five minutes. But veteran Zamalek captain Shikabala struck a blinding shot to score a superb equalizer for 1-1 on 30 minutes.

The game went into the break with the score tied at 1-1. Zamalek came the closest to taking the lead in the second stanza, when Huseein El Shahat’s fine shot hit the post on 54 minutes. But just a few minutes later, it was Ahly who endured a shot against the post, with Zizo’s shot on 65 minutes.

The night’s winner finally came for Africa’s Team of the Century, Al Ahly, thanks to Mohamed ‘Afsha’ Magdy’s fine volley into the bottom left corner with four minutes on the clock.

The Red Devils held on until the final whistle to become the first ever team to win the CAFCL nine times, while South African coach Pitso Mosimane , who won this title with Mamelodi Sudowns of SA in 2016, becomes the first coach since 1965 to win the trophy with two different teams.