Al-Ahly recorded its third win over Zamalek this season, after winning with two clean goals in the derby match which was postponed since the 37th week of the competition. Al-Ahly raised their points to 77, a difference of six points from their arch rival. Zamalek only needs one point to win the title, while Al-Ahly, which won last season’s title, is waiting for its rival to stumble in the last two games, on condition that Al-Ahly wins the two postponed games too.
During the game, the competition was fierce, while attempts to score goals on the two goalkeepers were few. However, Al-Ahly maintained their lead, while Zamalek’s shots were weak. Al-Ahly had four opportunities through which they scored two goals. Zamalek, on the other hand, had one chance during the 90 minutes of the game. Although Zamalek’s shots were more accurate, they lacked strength to shake Al-Ahly’s nets.
Al-Ahly players were also in the advantage through the continuous pressure they imposed on Zamalek, and their ability to keep the ball for longer times. This made them in control with many short and fast passes for most of the game time. Al-Ahly won 121 tackles, especially from midfielders and their three defenders Sherif Hazem, Saad Samir, and Mohamed Naguib, against Hossam Ghaly and Hossam Ashour. Zamalek players, on the other hand, failed to do the same and pressure Al-Ahly players due to the presence of only one defender, Ibrahim Salah.
The limited number of successful shots from the two teams was the common characteristic of the game: Al-Ahly made a total of 52 shots, of which only nine reached the goal; against seven shots by Zamalek of the total 39 attacks. Al-Ahly retrieved the ball with a 58% success rate, against 42% from Zamalek.
Moamen Zakaria was the star of the game, his first game with Al-Ahly against his former team, Zamalek, since he joined in January after a conflict. Despite the administrative mistakes and the financial penalty imposed on him at the time, he scored a goal for Al-Ahly in the game. This game confirmed Zamalek’s inability to win against Al-Ahly for eight years.
