Caf Champions League wrap: Al Hilal knocked out after Al Ahly stalemate

Al Hilal could only play out a 1-1 draw with Al Ahly in their final group game of the Caf Champions League group stage, consequently confirming their exit from the continent’s top club competition.

Mohamed Magdy Afsha scored for the away side three minutes after half-time, which will have seen the Egyptian giants end top of Group B, but Abdelrazig Omer dashed those hopes with an equaliser in the final minute of second-half stoppage time.

The Sudanese outfit thus drop out of the continent’s top club competition after ending on 10 points, one behind Al Ahly and two behind group winners Etoile du Sahel.

Etoile picked up a comfortable 2-0 win over bottom side FC Platinum in Sousse, courtesy second-half goals from Karim Aribi and Malek Baayou in minutes 48 and 72.

The victory saw the Tunisian side top the group.

In Group A, a pair of goals from Jackson Muleka, the competition’s top scorer with seven goals, helped Tout Puissant Mazembe to a 3-1 victory over Zesco United at the TP Mazembe Stadium.

Chico Ushindi netted the Ravens’ second, while the away side’s strike came through Winston Kalengo.

TP Mazembe ended top of the pile after earning 14 points from a possible 18, the joint-highest in the group stage.

In the other group game, Primeiro de Agosto were unlucky to not record a victory over Zamalek in Angola, with missed chances playing a part in their failure to beat the away side as it ended goalless in Luanda.

A win for the Angolan side wouldn’t have affected their final third-place position, likewise Zamalek, whose position in second was decided after the penultimate matchweek.

Mamelodi Sundowns, the only other unbeaten side in the Champions League before the final round of games, maintained their unblemished record with a 1-0 win over Wydad Casablanca at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

A Ricardo Nascimento penalty just before half-time settled the game for Pitso Mosimane’s troops in the highly entertaining encounter that saw both sides create and miss chances.

The other group encounter between USM Alger and Petro de Luanda was filled with drama and goals as the away side fought from two goals down to peg their hosts back in the eventual 2-2 draw.

Aimen Mahious and Walid Ardji put the Algerian side two goals ahead and looking comfortable heading into the final 10 minutes of the match.

However, two goals in a minute from Picas and Tony in minutes 80 and 81 led to an unexpected stalemate.

The final score was damaging for the hosts, as they came to rue their inability to hold on to the lead with the draw leaving them bottom of the group on three points, one behind Petro de Luanda, who they failed to defeat on home turf.

In Group D, defending champions Esperance were beaten 1-0 by JS Kabylie in Algeria.

A Rezki Hamroune strike just before the hour was enough to separate the sides in a tight game that saw few chances created by both sides.

The Tunisians ended top of their group on 11 points despite Raja Casablanca’s 1-0 success over Vita Club in the other fixture.

The Moroccan club won the game courtesy of Badr Benoun’s early goal in the third minute. Jamal Sellami’s troops dominated possession and out-shot their opponents 16-4, but couldn’t add to their advantage.

Esperance and Raja finished on 11 points, but the Tunisians’ superior head-to-head record saw them advance as group winners.