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CAF Club Competitions: Zamalek knocked out by debutants, Sundowns and Raja Casablanca advance
Zamalek the shock exit of the knockout rounds
Five-time African champions, Zamalek, bowed out of the CAF confederation cup tournament in courtesy of a shock defeat by Ethiopia’s Welyta Dicha who are making their first appearance in the tournament. Both sides recorded 2-1 victories in their home countries forcing the tie to reach penalty shoot-out where Zamalek lost 4-3 in front of their Egyptian fans. Pressure is mounting on Zamalek to step up after their rivals Al Ahly won the Egyptian League title a week ago, with about six weeks to spare and are well on course to go further in the CAF Champions League.
Elsewhere, Masandawana(Mamelodi Sundowns) had to dig deep to go past a stubborn Rwandan outfit, Rayon Sports FC and reach the group stages of the CAF Champions League. Rayon Sports had held the Brazilians to a 0-0 draw in Rwanda only to lose 2-0 in South Africa this past weekend. There were no major surprises in an encounter between former champions, Raja Casablanca and Mauritania’s Nouadhibou where the former eased into the last 16 (group stages) with an aggregate win of 4-2.
CAF Champions League is the premier club competition on the continent, similar to Europe’s UEFA Champions League whilst CAF Confederation Cup is Africa’s version of the Europa League.