Ahly and Sundowns drew 1-1 before a capacity 73,000 Cairo crowd and, after a 0-0 semi-final first leg, Sundowns qualified on the away-goal rule and will host the first leg of the final on May 24. Democratic Republic of Congo-born Fiston Mayele was the hero as Pyramids came from behind twice to beat Orlando Pirates of South Africa 3-2 in the return match and on aggregate.

In stark contrast to the earlier match, only a few thousand spectators watched Pyramids qualify in only their second Champions League appearance as they lack the huge fan base of Ahly. Title-holders Ahly, seeking a historic third consecutive title in the premier African club competition, led from the 24th minute of the second leg through a clinical Taher Mohamed finish.

Sundowns were dispossessed in midfield and Emam Ashour sent unmarked Mohamed through with a superb cross-field pass. Mohamed, whose previous Champions League goal this season came last September, took the ball to the edge of the area, then beat goalkeeper Ronwen Williams at his near post with a fierce shot. If record 12-time African champions Ahly erred, it was in believing that the goal would suffice to take them to a seventh final in eight seasons.

Stunned

They seldom threatened to increase their second-leg lead while Khuliso Mudau came close to levelling after half-time with a glancing header off a corner. With the match about to enter added time at the Cairo International Stadium, disaster struck for Ahly and their supporters, virtually all of whom wore red replica shirts.

The ball was crossed into the Ahly goalmouth, where a desperate scramble developed that ended with the ball striking Ibrahim and landing in the net. Ahly were stunned, and the crowd silenced. A match they were convinced had been won had slipped from their grasp with no further goals during 10 minutes of added time.

Ibrahim had been involved in an earlier second-half drama as he appeared to foul Lucas Ribeiro in the area, but the Mauritanian referee disagreed after checking the incident on a VAR monitor. Meanwhile, Pirates' failure to hold on to a lead cost them dearly at the June 30 Stadium as goals by Relebohile Mofokeng and Mohau Nkota gave them advantages that lasted just four minutes.

Mayele made it 1-1 in first-half added time, and substitute Ramadan Sobhi made an instant impact to bring the clubs level again on 57 minutes. The decisive goal for Pyramids came after 84 minutes when a Sodiq Ougola header after a corner was saved by Sipho Chaine and Mayele reacted quickest to slam the rebound into the net.

T. Mohamed

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