African Champions League : Underdogs Rise, Giants Shine in Thrilling Group Stage Finale

The latest CAF Champions League Group Stage round has wrapped up with exciting results and surprising performances. Here’s a breakdown of the key highlights:

Group B Results:

• Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) drew 1-1 with FAR Rabat (Morocco)
• Raja Club Athletic (Morocco) beat Maniema Union (DR Congo) 1-0

Group Standings:

1. AS FAR (Morocco): 10 points
2. Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa): 9 points
3. Raja Club Athletic (Morocco): 8 points
4. AS Maniema Union (DR Congo): 3 points

Qualifying Teams for Quarter-Finals:

First-Place Teams:

• Espérance De Tunis (Tunisia)
• Orlando Pirates (South Africa)
• Al Hilal (Sudan)
• FAR Rabat (Morocco)

Second-Place Teams:

• Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
• Al Ahly (Egypt)
• Pyramids (Egypt)
• MC Alger (Algeria)

Noteworthy Achievements:

• Espérance Tunis qualified for the next round for the 17th time in the 21st century (only Al Ahly has done better with 18 times)
• Al Hilal reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 2015
• South Africa makes history with two clubs in the quarter-finals, showing the growth of their championship

International Representation: Only six countries have achieved the feat of having multiple clubs in the quarter-finals: Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, DR Congo, and Tanzania.

Struggling Teams: Teams without a single win in the group stage:

• Maniema Union (DR Congo)
• Stade d’Abidjan (Ivory Coast)
• Djoliba AC (Mali)

Standout Performances:

• Best Attacks: Al Ahly SC and Pyramids FC (14 goals each)
• Best Defense: MC Alger (only 2 goals conceded)
• Worst Defense: Stade d’Abidjan (18 goals conceded – a competition record)

Unique Statistic: Djoliba AC became only the second team in competition history (after Petro de Luanda) to fail to score a single goal in the group stage.

Francophone Challenge: No francophone clubs made it to the quarter-finals – a trend that has continued for six of the last ten editions.