Les Egyptiens d’Al Ahly ont été couronnés vainqueurs de la Ligue des champions d’Afrique – encore une fois – après avoir battu le Wydad Casablanca.
Dimanche soir, le club de football le plus titré d’Afrique a remporté une 11e couronne continentale record.
Un match nul 1-1, avec un niveleur tardif dans la nuit, leur a valu une victoire globale de 3-2 sur le Wydad.
Les deux équipes s’étaient rencontrées lors du même match l’année dernière, lorsque Le Wydad a remporté le titre pour la troisième fois.
Cette année, les Égyptiens se sont rendus au Maroc avec une avance de 2-1 dès le match aller.
Dire que le derby nord-africain était une affaire méfiante serait cependant un euphémisme.
Avant le coup d’envoi, les supporters du Wydad ont fait la queue pendant des heures devant le stade Mohamed V de Casablanca.
La foule de 60 000 personnes a fourni à son équipe un soutien bruyant dès le départ, sifflant de manière assourdissante lorsque Al Ahly était sur le ballon et faisant rugir ses joueurs vers l’avant lorsqu’ils ont repris possession du ballon.
L’arbitre éthiopien Bamlak Tessema a été soumis à une pression extrême après avoir pris des décisions – plusieurs joueurs de chaque côté ont même eu un contact physique avec lui à plusieurs reprises.
Le Wydad a finalement sorti l’impasse tendue à la 27e minute grâce à un but de l’arrière latéral international marocain Yahia Attiyat Allah.
Le joueur de 28 ans a enfilé un coup franc en travers du but et, avec la mer de joueurs du Wydad qui approchait, le gardien adverse a été pris au dépourvu.
Les hôtes ont continué à pousser pour clôturer la mi-temps, mais n’ont pas pu ajouter à leur avantage.
Une tâche improbable
Al Ahly a commencé la seconde mi-temps en sachant qu’il serait obligatoire de marquer un but – un match nul dans la nuit ferait d’eux des champions tandis qu’une défaite 2-1 enverrait toujours le match en prolongation.
Néanmoins, Percy Tau d’Al Ahly, Hussein El Shahat et Mahmoud Kahraba, qui composent peut-être la ligne de front la plus talentueuse d’Afrique, ont eu du mal à menacer l’objectif du Wydad.
La tâche semblait improbable, d’autant plus qu’aucune équipe n’avait marqué de but à l’extérieur lors du match retour d’une finale de Ligue des champions depuis 2014.
Mais, juste au moment où tout espoir semblait perdu pour les Red Devils, un héros inattendu a émergé.
À la 78e minute, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Al Ahly et le demi-centre vedette égyptien se sont précipités sur un coup de pied de coin et ont envoyé le ballon dans le coin le plus éloigné du filet.
Le joueur de 24 ans, qui a été élu homme du match, a dédié son exploit à ses coéquipiers.
“Bien sûr, je suis satisfait du but, mais cela témoigne des efforts collectifs de tous les joueurs, qui ont fait preuve d’un dévouement incroyable tout au long du match”, a-t-il déclaré.
La route a été longue pour Abdelmonem, qui était encore inconnu en Égypte il y a à peine 18 mois.
L’ancien manager de l’équipe nationale Carlos Queiroz a même été critiqué pour l’avoir appelé à la Coupe d’Afrique des Nations 2021.
Pourtant, c’est exactement lors de ce tournoi continental phare qu’Abdelmonem est devenu l’une des étoiles montantes d’Afrique, avant d’être nommé dans l’équipe du tournoi.
Son but tardif à Casablanca a dégonflé les hôtes, qui n’avaient plus l’esprit pour contrer, et une 11e Ligue des champions a été assurée.
Le titre d’Al Ahly ponctue le deuxième plus beau parcours de la glorieuse histoire de ce club.
Entre 2005 et 2008, les Red Devils se sont qualifiés pour quatre finales consécutives et ont remporté toutes les finales sauf une.
Le résultat de dimanche signifie qu’Al Ahly a remporté trois des quatre dernières finales – se qualifiant consécutivement pour les quatre.
Le club africain du siècle vise la Coupe du monde des clubs
Cette itération d’Al Ahly a égalé les records élevés de l’équipe étoilée du milieu des années 2000 à bien des égards, et tous les regards sont maintenant fermement fixés sur la cartographie de nouveaux territoires.
“Aujourd’hui, nous sommes sortis victorieux et nous allons célébrer. Demain, nous allons nous concentrer sur la ligue et viser un autre trophée”, a déclaré le gardien d’Al Ahly Mohamed El Shenawy après le match.
Le Club africain du siècle a déjà remporté quatre trophées cette saison et un cinquième – la Premier League égyptienne – devrait être une formalité dans les semaines à venir.
La bonne nouvelle pour les géants du Caire est que s’ils peuvent éviter les offres majeures des ligues du Golfe, ils conserveront pratiquement toute leur équipe et pourraient même ajouter un attaquant et un arrière latéral.
Toute amélioration serait apportée en vue de la Coupe du Monde des Clubs de la FIFA de décembre, qui sera tenue en Arabie Saoudite pour la première fois..
Les supporters d’Al Ahly, obsédés par le succès, aimeraient surpasser le meilleur résultat obtenu par un club africain lors de la Coupe du monde des clubs.
Cela signifierait que les Égyptiens remporteraient le tournoi intercontinental – une tâche titanesque pour n’importe quel club en Afrique.
Pourtant, le résultat de dimanche soir a confirmé que si un club du continent pouvait devenir champion du monde, ce serait probablement Al Ahly.
Brentford are keen on a move for Celtic winger Nicolas Kuhn as they consider options amid strong interest in Bryan Mbeumo. (Caughtoffside), external
Midfielder Connor Barron reckons success in the Europa League can be used as a launch pad to propel Rangers back into the title race. (Daily Record), external
Celtic defender Auston Trusty says the atmosphere at Celtic Park helped him play through the pain of an ankle sprain in the Champions League win over RB Leipzig. (Daily Record), external
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The ordeal of surgery and prospect of an uncertain future prompted a change of focus for the husband and father-of-three.
“When you get an illness like that it’s about the family,” said Mowbray, who has also managed Hibernian, West Bromwich Albion, Celtic, Middlesbrough and Coventry.
“I remember sitting in a hospital bed and my kids had tears in their eyes, not sure whether I’d get through it or not, to be honest. I was very, very ill.
“I did come home from that and the period was very up and down.
“Some days you were feeling great, and others I would collapse and black out and find myself on the kitchen floor.
“I phoned the chief executive at Birmingham and told him that health and family is what life’s about and I needed to get myself right, so I left that job.”
Mowbray describes the “amazing” support from both Sunderland and Birmingham by honouring the contracts he signed as “humbling”.
But the “normal working-class lad from the north east”, who played as a central defender for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich, is keen to earn his wage back in the changing room and pass on his experience of football and life to young players.
For now, however, he has a bigger message to impart.
“If there’s something that isn’t normal, don’t be afraid to go and see your doctor,” he said.
“If I didn’t do that I probably would not have been here today, or I’d have been in a situation where I wouldn’t have been able to have an operation and recover.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he and his team will “clean our heads” during the international break, after suffering a fourth defeat in a row, losing at Brighton.
Guardiola previously lost three back-to-back games with Bayern Munich, before losing a fourth in a shootout, in the 2014-15 season.
His worse run as City boss had been three successive defeats.
Asked about the current run, Guardiola told Sky Sports: “Two in the Premier League. You have to count the victories and defeats, and we will win a lot.
“If you have to count how many victories in a row, we are far away from that position.”
It is “not nice” to lose two league games in a row, but City are “not far away” from the top of the table, in second place going into the international break, he said.
On Saturday, City took a first-half lead at Brighton through Erling Haaland’s 12th Premier League goal of the season.
The Blues dominated for much of the first half, having 67% possession and five shots on target to Brighton’s zero.
But that flipped after the break to just one on target, to Brighton’s four. City looked lethargic for large periods of the second half as Brighton substitutes Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley scored to earn the win.
It was the first time City had lost a Premier League game having led at half-time since 2021.
Speaking on Match Of The Day, former City defender Micah Richards said: “The most defining thing for me is not pressing any more. They’re going as individuals.
“When you lose the best midfielder in Europe [Rodri] you’re always going to have a strain on the team. But they are just too easy to play through at this moment in time.”
Guardiola added: “We are not able to do 90 minutes right now.
“We played a really good first half, but we were not able to sustain the rhythm in the second half.
“We lost again so [we will] clear our heads [in the] international break and hopefully our players come back fit.”
In his news conference, Guardiola added: “When the players come back, I don’t have any doubt that we will be back to our best.”
City’s run is tough after the break, with games against Tottenham, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Manchester United and Aston Villa before Christmas.
Manchester City’s rivals will reach for the world’s smallest violin if Guardiola mentions injuries, given their vast financial and playing resources, but he is well within his rights to mention losing Rodri, his most important player, for the season.
Kevin de Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji have all missed games too.
And Guardiola’s own future is yet to be decided as his contract expires next June. Director of football Txiki Begiristain, a close friend going back to their Barcelona days, is going at the end of the season.
When Guardiola has extended his City contract on the previous two occasions, the club has announced that in November 2020 and November 2022. He is yet to give any hint about his decision, with reports of approaches from Brazil and also England before the FA appointed Thomas Tuchel.
If City were winning, there would be a serenity as events moved behind the scenes. Instead, this will become more of an issue unless they pull out of this slump.
And could it be, at long last, that City’s squad needs new names and fresh hunger after winning the Champions League, six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, the Uefa Super Cup and the Fifa Club World Cup under Guardiola?
Serious decisions had to be made on his arrival, notably the selling of youth product Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid.
The club talked to Maresca about their intentions; he has the freedom to accept players and question club decisions.
His squad is now full of players he wanted, with the exception of one case who he accepted the club’s approval for despite not being sure about.
But with Gallagher everybody was aligned.
With just a year left on the midfielder’s contract, Chelsea and Maresca found themselves between a rock and a hard place.
If he stayed he would have to renew, but they were struggling to agree on financial demands and Chelsea were never going to allow his contract to run down. The player had to depart.
Coming the other way was Joao Felix, who returned to the Blues having spent an unsuccessful loan spell there in 2023, but on much lower wages and a seven-year deal.
“I don’t do miracles,” is one of Maresca’s favourite sayings, and you can imagine him pointing that out about a player who has struggled to fulfil their potential.
The club though, were convinced he could be useful and that Maresca’s detailed work would make him better. Eventually the coach accepted the challenge.
Felix was an exception to the rule. The Chelsea model works on the basis that their potential stars – young players with huge qualities – are paid a fixed sum plus performance-related incentives.
The new ownership say they do not want to be hamstrung by high wages as the previous regime were.
It is all about trying to build a sustainable model for the long-term that allows players who impress to be rewarded with extensions and more money, as Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer got in their new contracts, while allowing the club to move on those who underperform, easier to do when they are on average Premier League wages.
Enzo Fernandez, for example, was signed from Benfica in January 2023 for £107m – but on a nine-and-a-half-year contract.
The deal was certainly an upgrade on what the midfielder was earning at Benfica, but still said to be nowhere near what he could have earned elsewhere.
Chelsea’s owners say the long contracts are not given with a view to trying to amortise the value of a player over a number of years, but rather to build the right model to make the club sustainable, including the shaping of a squad that can be together for years.
It does not matter how much a player costs, but they have to come with one big condition – to have the right background, character and ability to be team players.
Maresca, identified by the club to guide them for the next decade, can have any player he wants as long as they are under the age of 24 and willing to commit to the team long-term.
He wants two players for every position as a bare minimum and, with that now in place, he does not envisage signing more than two or three each transfer window.
To outsiders, one of the most impressive things Maresca has done is stabilise a squad that was seen as being hugely inflated, with talk of in excess of 45 players. The manager though has a first-team squad of 23 and that is what he has dealt with since day one.
Many clubs will have a squad of around 18 of their strongest players with the remaining numbers made of youngsters. Chelsea have added one or two more because of the schedule this season, which could see them playing 70 matches across four competitions, plus the Club World Cup.
Chelsea believe talk of an oversized squad was also exaggerated, because it included players who have suffered mid to long-term injuries, those who have been pre signed with a view to the future and others who don’t fit into Maresca’s plan and will be moved on.
Liverpool have taken early control of the Premier League title race, but Alexis Mac Allister says he didn’t think they would be contenders at the start of the season.
Arne Slot’s side beat Aston Villa 2-0 at Anfield after reigning champions Manchester City had earlier slipped up 2-1 at Brighton.
The results gave Liverpool a five-point lead at the top over Pep Guardiola’s men, who have now lost four successive games.
“If we are top of the league by five points then it means something,” said Mac Allister.
“But we have to go step by step. If you asked me before the season started I would not say we were candidates, but now it looks like [we are].”
Records have tumbled under Slot, who replaced Jurgen Klopp in the summer, as his excellent start at Anfield continued with a ninth Premier League win in 11 games and 15 from 17 overall.
But the Dutch boss was wisely managing expectations as he added: “We are really happy that most of our players have stayed fit through this tough run.
“If I look at the games that are ahead, they are tough. It will be a tough season in general. Margins are small, we have a margin but it is small.