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Al-Ahly Prepares for the “Derby” with a Big Win Over Ismaily

Al-Ahly geared up for their highly anticipated clash with arch-rival Zamalek by securing a commanding 4-0 victory over hosts Ismaily in the opening match of the 14th round of the Egyptian Premier League.

At Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Marwan Attia (9′ penalty), Emam Ashour (52′), Hussein El-Shahat (83′), and Ahmed Reda (87′) found the net for Al-Ahly, while El-Shahat missed a penalty (26′). The defending champions raised their tally to 32 points, temporarily leading the standings, pending Pyramids’ match against Modern Sport later today. Meanwhile, Ismaily remained stuck at 12 points in 14th place.

Al-Ahly started the game on the front foot, applying intense pressure from the outset. In the 7th minute, El-Shahat played a through ball to Slovenian forward Nino Žugelj inside the penalty area, but Ismaily’s goalkeeper, Gamal El-Sayed, got there first. However, VAR intervened, ruling that Ismaily defender Mohamed Nasser had fouled Žugelj, resulting in a penalty. Attia stepped up and confidently converted from the spot (9′), marking his first goal for the club since joining from Al-Ittihad Alexandria in January 2023.

VAR was called into action again in the 26th minute, awarding Al-Ahly a second penalty after Abdullah El-Saeed fouled Ashour. However, El-Shahat squandered the opportunity, smashing his shot against the crossbar. He later thought he had redeemed himself with a goal (41′), but it was ruled out for offside. Just before halftime, El-Sayed made a crucial save to deny Ashour, keeping the score 1-0 in favor of Al-Ahly.

Ashour eventually doubled the lead in the 52nd minute with a powerful strike that rattled the crossbar before bouncing into the net, following a precise assist from Žugelj. The goal cemented his status as the league’s top scorer with nine goals.

Ismaily nearly pulled one back when Nader Farag whipped in a cross, which substitute Ali El-Malwany met with a strike, only to see his effort denied by the woodwork (74′).

El-Shahat made up for his earlier penalty miss by netting Al-Ahly’s third, capitalizing on an assist from Ashour (83′). Ahmed Reda then sealed the dominant victory with a stunning finish after being set up by Mohamed Abdallah, marking his first goal for the club since arriving from Petrojet last month (87′).

A Costly Setback for Zamalek

At Al Salam Stadium in Cairo, Zamalek stumbled with a frustrating 1-1 draw against visitors Petrojet, widening the gap to five points behind the league leaders. This was the team’s first match under new Portuguese coach José Peseiro.

The match remained deadlocked until stoppage time, when both sides found the net in dramatic fashion. Petrojet took the lead through Mostafa El-Gamal (90+4′), but Zamalek responded almost immediately as defender Ahmed Abdel-Meguid “Bahbah” inadvertently sent the ball into his own net (90+5′).

With the draw, Zamalek climbed to 27 points in third place, while Petrojet reached 18 points, sitting in eighth.

The first half saw few clear-cut chances aside from a controversial moment when Zamalek was awarded a penalty for a handball by Petrojet defender Hadi Riyad. However, VAR overturned the decision, determining that the foul had occurred just outside the penalty area (25′).

In the second half, Ahmed Sayed “Zizo” squandered a golden opportunity when he found himself one-on-one with Petrojet goalkeeper Omar Salah but failed to convert (55′). Later, his header struck the crossbar (75′).

El-Gamal finally broke the deadlock with a low-driven strike from outside the box (90+4′). But just moments later, Abdullah El-Saeed sent a long ball forward toward Nasser Mansi, forcing “Bahbah” into a costly defensive error as he deflected the ball into his own net (90+5′).

In other matches from the same round, National Bank (22 points, 5th place) thrashed Smouha (17 points, 11th place) 4-1, while Haras El Hodoud (21 points, 6th place) secured a 2-0 victory over Farco (18 points, 9th place).

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