Blockbuster African last-eight clash looms for Ahly

Title-holders Wydad Casablanca of Morocco and Esperance of Tunisia won CAF Champions League groups early on Sunday, and set up a potential blockbuster quarter-finals clash with Al Ahly of Egypt.

Either Wydad, Casablanca neighbours Raja or Esperance will be paired with the record 10-time African champions when the last-eight draw is made in Cairo on Wednesday night.

Group winners and runners-up are separated for the draw and Ahly finished second in Group B behind Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa after suffering a 5-2 drubbing in Pretoria last month.

The Cairo Red Devils will avoid a quarter-finals rematch with Sundowns as sides who met at the mini-league stage of the premier African club competition will not be drawn together.

Ahly know their three possible last-eight opponents well having beaten Raja 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals last season before losing 2-0 to Wydad in a single-match final.

The Egyptian outfit eliminated Esperance 4-0 over two legs in the semi-finals two seasons ago, then defeated Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa 3-0 in the final.

Senegalese Bouly Sambou took his Champions League goal tally to six -- one less than chart-topper Jason Mayele from Young Africans of Tanzania -- with a brace as Wydad outplayed JS Kabylie of Algeria 3-0 in Casablanca.

Two-time champions Kabylie started the match as Group A leaders on head-to-head records having edged Wydad 1-0 in Algiers.

But that position changed after 28 minutes when Sambou struck for the first time, and he doubled the lead six minutes into the second half.

Zouhair el Moutaraji scored his first goal of the campaign three minutes from time to complete a bigger than expected winning margin for the defending champions.

Chabab Belouizdad, the other Algerian contenders for the $2.5 million (2.3 mn euros) first prize, fared better than Kabylie as they held Esperance to a 0-0 draw in Rades near Tunis.

But the result did not alter the Group D positions with Esperance finishing first and Belouizdad second, one point behind.

The qualification of Belouizdad was a surprise as five-time Champions League winners Zamalek of Egypt were seeded to reach the knockout stages with Esperance.

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© Agence France-Presse