Al Ahly, the reigning champions of the Egyptian Premier League, resumed their league campaign after an 85-day absence with a 3–1 victory over hosts Wadi Degla in the 16th round of the competition on Tuesday.
Al Ahly had been absent from the league due to a prolonged stoppage caused by Egypt’s participation in the Africa Cup of Nations, which concluded last week in Morocco. The Pharaohs finished in fourth place after losing the bronze medal match to Nigeria on penalties.
During the break, Al Ahly were eliminated from both the Egyptian League Cup and the Egypt Cup after exiting in the first round.
At Cairo International Stadium, Al Ahly needed 26 minutes to open the scoring through Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet, who converted a cross from teammate Ahmed Mostafa “Zizo.”
Trezeguet raised his tally to five goals in the league and 11 in all competitions this season, moving to the top of Al Ahly’s scoring chart.
In the first minute of stoppage time, Zizo doubled Al Ahly’s lead from the penalty spot.
In the second half, new signing Marwan Osman, on loan from Ceramica Cleopatra during the January transfer window, added the third goal in the 67th minute after capitalizing on a cross from Emam Ashour.
Wadi Degla pulled one back through Ziad Osama “Zizo” in the 94th minute.
With their seventh league win of the season, Al Ahly ended a run of two consecutive draws in the previous rounds, raising their tally to 26 points from 13 matches and moving up to third place in the standings.
Meanwhile, Wadi Degla’s points total remained at 23 from 15 matches, dropping them to fourth place.
