Wydad Atheltic Club secured their third CAF Champions League title after a 2-0 victory over Al Ahly SC at the Stade Mohamed V on Monday evening.
The build-up to the fixture was dominated by off-the-field drama with Ahly taking the decision for Wydad’s home ground the be the hosting venue for the one-off final to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) but saw their appeal rejected for the event to be postponed.
It was claimed that CAF allocated 10,000 tickets for Egyptian supporters but their section of the stadium was notably empty, which saw reports of tickets not being received while some Egyptian media outlets suggested there were issues with entering the stadium.
But it was a matter of pointing fingers at one point as veteran North African journalist Jalal Bounouar of the BBC reported that the Red Devils supporters simply didn’t make the trip to Casablanca, presumably at the high costs it would take for the venture to attend the game.
In what was agreed to be a once-off match at a neutral venue when CAF made the decision to alter the format three years ago in 2019 after the controversial abandoned final between Wydad and Esperance it was Ahly up against it from the first whistle as a sea of red Wydad shits greeted them in a hostile atmosphere.
The El Moutaraji show
Ahly started slowly but looked to control possession while Wydad maintained their tactic employed throughout the campaign by head coach Walid Regragui, to remain defensive and resolute and exploit the space on transitions while looking to dominate at dead-ball situations.
But their opener after 15 minutes was a goal befitting of the occasion with Zouhair El Moutaraji smashing home a long-range thunderbolt past a flailing Ahly captain Mohamed El-Shenawy, just minutes after Guy Mbenza hit the crossbar – which sparked an eruption from the home supporters.
It clearly boosted the confidence of Wydad but they looked settled to just defend the lead for the rest of the half and allowed Ahly to dominate possession with 68% in the opening half but for all of that, they failed to produce one shot on target from their five attempts, falling into the plans or the highly-rated Regragui.
The second-half Pitso Mosimane clearly sent out his side to go out on attack to get the equaliser in an attempt to silence the home crowd, who played their part to perfection throughout the game but it backfired as they were caught on the counter after nearly finding the net – with El Moutaraji bagging his brace after an El Shanway fumble.
It was enough for Wydad to hold onto as they frustrated the visitors for the remainder of the game, allowing them possession but limiting their clear-cut chances with a defensive masterclass, a cornerstone for their success in the largely effective but unspectacular 2021/22 Champions League campaign.
Regragui masterminded his first Champions League crown, putting his name on the map as one of the most promising coaches on the continent at the age of 46 and ending what could have been a three-peat for Ahly and Mosimane since his arrival in September 2020 from Mamelodi Sundowns.
It marked Wydad’s first continental crown since beating Ahly in the 2017 showpiece and healed the wounds of the controversial abandoned final against Taraji in 2019.
