Wrote:
Omar Kora
Sunday 20 February 2022
02:53 PM
Zamalek fears the specter of an early exit from the group stage of the African Champions League, in a scenario that is repeated for what happened to Al-Abyad in the last version 2021, after wasting four points from two matches this season.
Zamalek stumbled again in the Champions League after a goalless draw with its host Sagrada Esperanca of Angola during the match that brought them together yesterday, Saturday, in the second round of Group D competitions.
Zamalek finished third in their group with two points, after they tied in the round match after converting their delay against Petro Atletico with two goals to a draw (2-2), leaving Al-Abyad to drop four points during the first two rounds.
Angolan Petro Atlético topped the group with 4 points after the end of the second round, Moroccan Wydad came in second place with 3 points, followed by Zamalek with two points, while Sagrada bottomed the group with one point.
Duplicate scenario
Zamalek’s start looks similar to what it achieved in the group stage during the last edition of the Champions League, as it tied in the first two matches with Mouloudia Algiers and Tonguet of Senegal (0-0) in both meetings.
But Al-Abyad then lost three goals to one against Esperance in Rades and then returned to Egypt to lose again against the Tunisian team (1-0), so that the first four rounds passed without achieving any victory and his position worsened.
Zamalek tried to return to the competition by defeating Mouloudia Algiers at the latter’s stadium (2-0) and Tonget (4-1), but the two late victories did not suffice for it to pass to the quarter-finals to be eliminated from the group stage.
Zamalek ranked third with eight points, behind leaders Esperance (11 points) and Mouloudia Algiers, who scored their ninth point in the last round to outperform Al-Abyad, while Tonget occupied the last place with four points.
The decision against Wydad
In the matches of the third and fourth rounds, Zamalek will face a difficult task that will determine the form of its return to competition in the race to book the transit ticket to the quarter-finals, as it will be a guest of Wydad in Morocco before the meeting between them is renewed in Egypt.
Zamalek will play a new match outside its stadium when it travels to Casablanca to face Moroccan Wydad next Saturday in the third round competitions, before the meeting between them will be renewed in the fourth round on March 11th.
The white team must achieve a positive result in at least one of the two matches in order to revive its chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the tournament, which it has been missing for 20 years, when it won its fifth title in 2002.
Four matches remaining against French coach Patrice Carteron’s team in the group stage campaign, Zamalek can take advantage of them in order to reap many points that enable him to complete the journey of winning the sixth title.