Al Ahly win CAF Champions League for 11th time after second leg draw at Wydad Casablanca

Egyptian side claim a 3-2 aggregate victory as Mohamed Abdelmonem scores vital equaliser

Ahly's players celebrate with the trophy after winning the CAF Champions League final football match between Morocco's Wydad AC and Egypt's Al-Ahly at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca on June 11, Show more

Defender Mohamed Abdelmonem equalised on the night as Al Ahly of Egypt drew 1-1 at Wydad Casablanca of Morocco on Sunday to win the CAF Champions League for a record-extending 11th time.

Abdelmonem's goal cancelled the lead Yahia Attiyat Allah had given the defending champions and earned the Cairo club a 3-2 aggregate victory after building a 2-1 first-leg lead.

Ahly scored 27 goals in 14 matches en route to continental glory and four of them came from Egypt centre-back Abdelmonem.

Defeat for Wydad ended a run of two final victories over Ahly, and they paid the penalty for concentrating on defending their fragile second-leg lead instead of seeking further goals.

Unlike Europe, away goals still count double in African club competitions when sides finish level on aggregate and Wydad would have retained the trophy had they won 1-0.

It was the third Champions League triumph in four seasons for Ahly after victories over fellow Egyptians Zamalek in 2020 and Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa the following year.

The second leg was the 13th time the African club giants had met in the Champions League with Ahly holding a 5-3 lead and four matches drawn.

For referee Bamlak Tessema Weyesa from Ethiopia it was a special occasion -- his last match before retiring at the age of 42 after 14 years handling international fixtures.

As the first half got under way in front of a capacity crowd inside the 65,000-seat Stade Mohammed V, an unfortunate feature of football reared its ugly head again with green lasers pointed at visiting players to try and distract them.

Moroccan Ayoub el Amloud had the first chance just past the 10-minute mark, but after a dazzling dribble into the area, his tame, inaccurate shot posed no threat.

The Ahly strike force of Mahmoud Kahraba, South African Percy Tau, and Hussein el Shahat had scored 15 Champions League goals before the second leg, but were unable to trouble Wydad early on.

Wydad broke the deadlock when an Attiyat Allah free-kick close to the touchline floated into the goalmouth, eluded El Shenawy, and landed in the far corner of the net.

Ahly made no headway before half-time as they tried to equalise and their frustrations led to yellow cards for Kahraba and El Shahat, while Bouhra was cautioned for time wasting.

Nobody was more relieved when a 51-minute opening half finished than the referee, who was battling to keep control of some bad-tempered players.

Midway through the second half, smoke from flares restricted visibility leading to play being temporarily halted.

A set piece gave Wydad the lead and another one, a corner from Ali Maaloul, set up Abdelmonem to equalise with a glancing header into the far corner that stunned the crowd.

Ahly had plenty of second-half possession, but did not seriously threaten Wydad goalkeeper Youssef el Motie before levelling.