There was heartbreak for Young Africans and Raja Casablanca on matchday 6 of the CAF Champions League group stages after they fell just short of qualifying for the quarterfinals.
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An exciting finish to Group A saw Al Hilal clinch top spot despite suffering a heavy 4-0 defeat at the hands of TP Mazembe at the Stade TP Mazembe on Saturday.
Three goals inside the opening hour from Jean Diouf (21'), Ibrahima Keita (29') and Merceil Ngimbi (58') put the Ravens in command on home soil before Suleman Shaibu (89' PEN) sealed the win at the death.
Young Africans narrowly missed out on the quarterfinals after playing out to a 0-0 draw with MC Alger at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.
The stalemate in Dar es Salaam ensured that El Mouloudia pipped Yanga to the runners-up spot by a single point as they finished one behind the Blue Wave.
HIGHLIGHTS. 🎥
— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) January 19, 2025
In their Group A clash, Young Africans and MC Alger played to a 0-0 draw, sharing the points after 90 minutes of action. 🤝#TotalEnergiesCAFCL | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/z4DSTXbcg6
Group B was also a tightly-contested affair as AS FAR nabbed top spot following a 1-1 draw with Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday.
Bafana ba Style looked to have sneaked into pole position after Peter Shalulile broke the deadlock on 12 minutes, but Amine Zouhzouh finally hit back for the Militarians seven minutes from time to finish one point ahead of the Brazilians.
To the quarters! 💫
— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) January 19, 2025
Mamelodi Sundowns secure their seventh consecutive quarterfinals spot. 🇿🇦#TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/B3n8ussbnX
Raja Casablanca came up just short in the end after a 1-0 win over AS Maniema Union at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium saw them finish one point behind Sundowns in third spot.
Orlando Pirates pulled off the shock of the final round as they beat Al Ahly 2-1 at the Cairo International Stadium on Saturday to finish at the head of Group C.
After a goalless first half, Relebohile Mofokeng gave the Buccaneers the lead on 53 minutes before Hussein El Shahat hit back for the Red Eagles in the 69th minute. Tshegofatso Mabasa then silenced the home crowd with an 83rd-minute winner as Pirates won the group by four points ahead of the defending champions.
HIGHLIGHTS. 🎥@orlandopirates maintain top spot after beating Al Ahly FC away in Cairo! 🇿🇦👏#TotalEnergiesCAFCL | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/MoYV32KHGT
— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) January 19, 2025
Meanwhile, CR Belouizdad concluded their African adventure on a high after thrashing Stade d'Abidjan 6-0 in a dead rubber at the Stade du 5 Juillet.
First-half goals from Abderrahmane Meziane (17') and Mohamed Belkhir (36') put the Reds in the driver's seat, with Aymen Mahious (49'), Rezki Hamroune (87') and Merouane Zerrouki (90') completing the rout in the second half.
ES Tunis managed to edge Pyramids by the narrowest of margins in Group D after running out 4-1 victors over Sagrada Esperanca at the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium on Saturday.
Achref Jebri's hat-trick (16', 55', 59') set up the win for the Blood and Gold, while Yan Sasse (22') also got his name on the scoresheet as Dabanda (45+1') managed to pull one back for Sacred Hope just before halftime.
HIGHLIGHTS. 🎥
— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) January 19, 2025
Hat-trick from Jabari secures a big win for @ESTunis1919 against GD Sagrada Esperança, solidifying their top position in Group D. 🔝#TotalEnergiesCAFCL | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/eauEb1dFam
Pyramids had to settle for second place despite putting Djoliba to the sword with a 6-0 hammering at the 30 June Stadium.
The hosts hit the front as early as the second minute through Sodiq Awujoola and further goals from Marawan Hamdy (10'), Mostafa Fathi (53'), Ramadan Sobhi (60' PEN), Abdel Rahman Magdy (66') and Youssef Obama (77') wrapped up the big win.
HIGHLIGHTS. 🎥
— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) January 19, 2025
Six different players found the net as Pyramids FC secured a massive win against Djoliba AC De Bamako on Matchday 6. 🔥#TotalEnergiesCAFCL | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/k9iHzuzg5O
However, it was not enough to take them above ES Tunis, who had a better goal difference in their head-to-head encounters after both teams finished on 13 points.
HERE COMES THE 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓. 🔥#TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/jWv6UvPwbN
— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) January 19, 2025
CAF Champions League matchday 6 results:
Saturday, January 18
TP Mazembe 4-0 Al Hilal
Young Africans 0-0 MC Alger
Al Ahly 1-2 Orlando Pirates
CR Belouizdad 6-0 Stade d'Abidjan
ES Tunis 4-1 Sagrada Esperanca
Pyramids 6-0 Djoliba
Sunday, January 19
Mamelodi Sundowns 1-1 AS FAR
Raja Casablanca 1-0 AS Maniema Union
