CAF Champions League 2018

CAF Champions League 2018
Cup winners	Espérance Tunis (3rd title)
Beginning	February 10, 2018
final	H : November 2nd, 2018 R : November 9th, 2018
Final stadium	H: Stadium Borg el-ʿArab , Borg El Arab D: Stadium of January 14 , Radès
Teams	59
Games	148
Gates	351  (ø 2.37 per game)
Top scorer	Anice Badri (Espérance Tunis, 8 goals)
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CAF Confederation Cup 2018 ↓

The CAF Champions League 2018 (also called Total CAF Champions League 2018 for sponsorship reasons ) was the 22nd season of the most important African competition for club teams in football under this name. The season began with the first round on February 10, 2018 and ended with the finals in November 2018. Defending champion Wydad Casablanca from Morocco was eliminated in the quarter-finals against the Algerian club ES Sétif .

The winner of the competition was the Tunisian club Espérance Tunis with an overall result of 4: 3 in the final against al Ahly Cairo from Egypt . He qualified as a representative of the CAF for the FIFA Club World Cup 2018 in the United Arab Emirates and for the CAF Super Cup .

Preliminary round

The draw took place on December 13, 2017. The first legs were played on February 10 and 11, the second legs on February 20, 21 and 24, 2018.

	total		First leg	Return leg
Saint George SA	w / o 1	Woof Salaam	-	-
CNaPS Sport	(a)2: 2 ( a )	KCCA FC	2: 1	0: 1
Zanaco FC	6: 1	FC Armed Forces	3-0	3: 1
Bantu FC	(a)5: 5 ( a )	Mbabane Swallows FC	2: 4	3: 1
Stade Malien	1: 2	Williamsville AC	1: 1	0: 1
al Tahaddy SC	1: 2	Aduana Stars	1-0	0: 2
ES Sétif	6-0	Olympic Real de Bangui	6-0	0-0
RC Kadiogo Ouagadougou	1: 2	CF Mounana	1-0	0: 2
AS Real Bamako	1: 2	MFM FC	1: 1	0: 1
AS Otôho	2: 9	MC Alger	2-0	0: 9
ASFAN Niamey	1: 3	Horoya AC	1: 3	0-0
Génération Foot	2-0	Misr El-Makasa	2-0	0-0
Young Africans FC	2: 1	Saint Louis Suns United	1-0	1: 1
Township Rollers FC	4: 2	al-Merreikh Omdurman	3-0	1: 2
Gor Mahia FC	3: 1	Leones Vegetarianos	2-0	1: 1
ASAC Concorde	1: 6	Espérance Tunis	1: 1	0: 5
Plateau United	4-0	Eding sport	3-0	1-0
AC Léopards	3: 3 (3: 4 on  behalf )	AS Togo port	2: 1	1: 2
LISCR FC	1: 3	al-Hilal Khartoum	1-0	0: 3
JKU FC	0: 7	ZESCO United	0-0	0: 7
Buffles du Borgou FC	3: 4	ASEC Mimosas	1: 1	2: 3
Ngaya Club de Mdé	1: 3	UD Songo	1: 1	0: 2
Difaâ d'El Jadida	10-00	Sport Bissau e Benfica	10-00	0-0
AS Vita Club	6: 1	Mighty Wanderers	4-0	2: 1
CD Primeiro de Agosto	5: 1	Platinum FC	3-0	2: 1
Bidvest Wits	2: 1	Pamplemousses SC	2-0	0: 1
Rayon Sports	2: 1	LLB Académic FC	1: 1	1-0

annotation

²Since Wau Salaam did not play for the first leg, Saint-George SA moved straight into the first round.

First round

The draw took place on December 13, 2017. The first legs were played on March 6 and 7, the second legs from March 16 to 18, 2018. The losing teams played on in the second round of the CAF Confederation Cup .

	total		First leg	Return leg
Saint George SA	0: 1	KCCA FC	0-0	0: 1
Zanaco FC	1: 3	Mbabane Swallows FC	1: 2	0: 1
Wydad Casablanca	7: 4	Williamsville AC	7: 2	0: 2
Aduana Stars	1: 4	ES Sétif	1-0	0: 4
al Ahly Cairo	7: 1	CF Mounana	4-0	3: 1
MFM FC	2: 7	MC Alger	2: 1	0: 6
Horoya AC	4: 1	Génération Foot	2: 1	2-0
Young Africans FC	1: 2	Township Rollers FC	1: 2	0-0
Gor Mahia FC	0: 1	Espérance Tunis	0-0	0: 1
Étoile Sportive du Sahel	4: 3	Plateau United	4: 2	0: 1
AS Togo port	( a ) 3: 3(a)	al-Hilal Khartoum	2-0	1: 3
ZESCO United	( a ) 2: 2(a)	ASEC Mimosas	0: 1	2: 1
Tout Puissant Mazembe	4: 3	UD Songo	4-0	0: 3
Difaâ d'El Jadida	3: 2	AS Vita Club	1-0	2: 2
CD Primeiro de Agosto	1: 1 (3: 2  i.E. )	Bidvest Wits	1-0	0: 1
Rayon Sports	0: 2	Mamelodi Sundowns	0-0	0: 2

Group stage

The group draw took place on March 21, 2018 in the Egyptian capital Cairo . The 16 winners of the first round were divided into four lottery pots and drawn into four groups of four teams each. The teams were seeded according to their results in the CAF competitions of the last five seasons ( CAF five-year ranking ). The group winners and runners-up qualify for the quarter-finals, the third and fourth-placed finishers are eliminated from the competition. If two or more teams are tied, the placement is determined by the following criteria:

1. Number of points in direct comparison
2. Goal difference in direct comparison
3. Number of goals in direct comparison
4. Number of away goals in direct comparison
5. If, after applying criteria 1 to 4, there are still several teams in the same place in the table, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied, but only to the matches between the teams in question. Should this also not lead to a definitive placement, criteria 6 to 9 will be applied.
6. Goal difference from all group matches
7. Number of goals in all group matches
8. Number of away goals in all group matches
9. Drawing lots

Group A

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	al Ahly Cairo	6th	4th	1	1	009: 500	+4	13
2.	Espérance Tunis	6th	3	2	1	008: 400	+4	11
3.	KCCA FC	6th	2	0	4th	008: 900	−1	06th
4th	Township Rollers FC	6th	1	1	4th	002: 900	−7	04th

4th May 2018
al Ahly Cairo	0-0	Espérance Tunis	Borg el-ʿArab stadium
Township Rollers FC	1-0	KCCA FC	Botswana National Stadium
15th May 2018
KCCA FC	2-0	al Ahly Cairo	Mandela National Stadium
Espérance Tunis	4: 1	Township Rollers FC	January 14th Stadium
17th July 2018
Espérance Tunis	3: 2	KCCA FC	January 14th Stadium
al Ahly Cairo	3-0	Township Rollers FC	Borg el-ʿArab stadium
28th July 2018
KCCA FC	0: 1	Espérance Tunis	Mandela National Stadium
Township Rollers FC	0: 1	al Ahly Cairo	Botswana National Stadium
17th August 2018
Espérance Tunis	0: 1	al Ahly Cairo	January 14th Stadium
18th August 2018
KCCA FC	1-0	Township Rollers FC	Mandela National Stadium
August 28, 2018
al Ahly Cairo	4: 3	KCCA FC	Borg el-ʿArab stadium
Township Rollers FC	0-0	Espérance Tunis	Botswana National Stadium

Group B

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Tout Puissant Mazembe	6th	3	3	0	010: 400	+6	12
2.	ES Sétif	6th	2	2	2	007: 900	−2	08th
3.	Difaâ d'El Jadida	6th	1	3	2	006: 700	−1	06th
4th	MC Alger	6th	1	2	3	004: 700	−3	05

4th May 2018
MC Alger	1: 1	Difaâ d'El Jadida	Stade 5 Juillet 1962
5th May 2018
Tout Puissant Mazembe	4: 1	ES Sétif	Stade TP Mazembe
15th May 2018
Difaâ d'El Jadida	0: 2	Tout Puissant Mazembe	Stade El Abdi
ES Sétif	0: 1	MC Alger	Stade you 8 May 1945
17th July 2018
Tout Puissant Mazembe	1-0	MC Alger	Stade TP Mazembe
ES Sétif	2: 1	Difaâ d'El Jadida	Stade you 8 May 1945
July 27, 2018
Difaâ d'El Jadida	1: 1	ES Sétif	Stade El Abdi
28th July 2018
MC Alger	1: 1	Tout Puissant Mazembe	Stade Mustapha Tchaker
17th August 2018
ES Sétif	1: 1	Tout Puissant Mazembe	Stade you 8 May 1945
18th August 2018
Difaâ d'El Jadida	2-0	MC Alger	Stade El Abdi
August 28, 2018
Tout Puissant Mazembe	1: 1	Difaâ d'El Jadida	Stade TP Mazembe
MC Alger	1: 2	ES Sétif	Stade 5 Juillet 1962

Group C

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Wydad Casablanca	6th	3	3	0	008: 200	+6	12
2.	Horoya AC	6th	2	3	1	007: 700	± 0	09
3.	Mamelodi Sundowns	6th	1	3	2	005: 600	−1	06th
4th	AS Togo port	6th	1	1	4th	004: 900	−5	04th

5th May 2018
AS Togo port	1: 2	Horoya AC	Stade Municipal
Mamelodi Sundowns	1: 1	Wydad Casablanca	Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium
15th May 2018
Wydad Casablanca	3-0	AS Togo port	Stade Mohammed V
May 22, 2018
Horoya AC	2: 2	Mamelodi Sundowns	Stade du 28 September
17th July 2018
AS Togo port	1-0	Mamelodi Sundowns	Stade Municipal
Horoya AC	1: 1	Wydad Casablanca	Stade du 28 September
July 27, 2018
Mamelodi Sundowns	2: 1	AS Togo port	Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium
28th July 2018
Wydad Casablanca	2-0	Horoya AC	Stade Mohammed V
17th August 2018
Horoya AC	2: 1	AS Togo port	Stade du 28 September
Wydad Casablanca	1-0	Mamelodi Sundowns	Stade Mohammed V
August 28, 2018
AS Togo port	0-0	Wydad Casablanca	Stade Municipal
Mamelodi Sundowns	0-0	Horoya AC	Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium

Group D

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Étoile Sportive du Sahel	6th	3	3	0	010: 400	+6	12
2.	CD Primeiro de Agosto	6th	2	3	1	006: 500	+1	09
3.	ZESCO United	6th	1	3	2	007: 600	+1	06th
4th	Mbabane Swallows FC	6th	1	1	4th	003:110	−8	04th

5th May 2018
ZESCO United	1: 1	Mbabane Swallows FC	Levy Mwanawasa Stadium
CD Primeiro de Agosto	1: 1	Étoile Sportive du Sahel	Estádio 11 de November
15th May 2018
Mbabane Swallows FC	1-0	CD Primeiro de Agosto	Mavuso Sports Center
May 16, 2018
Étoile Sportive du Sahel	2: 1	ZESCO United	Stade Olympique de Sousse
17th July 2018
Mbabane Swallows FC	0: 3	Étoile Sportive du Sahel	Mavuso Sports Center
ZESCO United	0-0	CD Primeiro de Agosto	Levy Mwanawasa Stadium
July 27, 2018
CD Primeiro de Agosto	2: 1	ZESCO United	Estádio 11 de November
Étoile Sportive du Sahel	2-0	Mbabane Swallows FC	Stade Olympique de Sousse
18th August 2018
Mbabane Swallows FC	0: 3	ZESCO United	Mavuso Sports Center
Étoile Sportive du Sahel	1: 1	CD Primeiro de Agosto	Stade Olympique de Sousse
August 28, 2018
ZESCO United	1: 1	Étoile Sportive du Sahel	Levy Mwanawasa Stadium
CD Primeiro de Agosto	2: 1	Mbabane Swallows FC	Estádio 11 de November

Final round

Quarter finals

The draw took place on September 3, 2018. A group runner-up each met a group winner from another group, with the group winners initially playing the first leg away. The first legs were played on September 14 and 15, the second legs on September 21 and 22, 2018.

	total		First leg	Return leg
CD Primeiro de Agosto	( a ) 1: 1(a)	Tout Puissant Mazembe	0-0	1: 1
Espérance Tunis	3: 1	Étoile Sportive du Sahel	2: 1	1-0
ES Sétif	1-0	Wydad Casablanca	1-0	0-0
Horoya AC	0: 4	al Ahly Cairo	0-0	0: 4

Semifinals

The first legs were played on October 2, the second legs on October 23, 2018.

	total		First leg	Return leg
al Ahly Cairo	3: 2	ES Sétif	2-0	1: 2
CD Primeiro de Agosto	3: 4	Espérance Tunis	1-0	2: 4

final

First leg

al Ahly Cairo		Espérance Tunis		Lineup
	November 2, 2018 in Borg El Arab ( Borg el-ʿArab Stadium ) Result: 3: 1 (1: 0) Spectators: 60,000 Referee: Mehdi Abid Charef ( Algeria )
	Mohamed El-Shenawy - Ahmed Fathi (22nd Mohamed Hany ), Saad Samir , Salif Coulibaly , Ayman Ashraf - Ahmed Hamoudi (67th Mohamed Gaber ), Hossam Ashour , Amr Elsolia , Islam Mohareb - Walid Soliman - Walid Azaro Trainer: Patrice Carteron ( France )	Moez Ben Cherifia - Sameh Derbali , Chamseddine Dhaouadi , Khalil Chemmam , Houcine Rabii - Fousseny Coulibaly , Franck Kom , Ghailene Chaalali - Anice Badri , Taha Yassine Khenissi (80th Bilel Mejri ), Youcef Belaïli Trainer: Moïn Chabani
	1: 0 Soliman (34th, foul penalty) 2: 0 Elsolia (58th) 3: 1 Soliman (77th, foul penalty)	2: 1 Belaïli (64th, foul penalty)
	Samir (49.), Hany (87.)	Dhaouadi (18th), Derbali (81st), Kom (83th)

Return leg

Espérance Tunis		al Ahly Cairo		Lineup
	November 9, 2018 in Radès ( Stadium of January 14 ) Result: 3: 0 (1: 0) Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa ( Ethiopia )
	Moez Ben Cherifia - Sameh Derbali , Mohamed Ali Yacoubi , Khalil Chemmam , Ayman Ben Mohamed - Fousseny Coulibaly , Ghailene Chaalali - Anice Badri , Saad Bguir (62 Houcine Rabii ), Youcef Belaïli (80. Mohamed Amine Meskini ) - Taha Yassine Khenissi ( 69. Bilel Mejri ) coach: Moin Chabani	Mohamed El-Shenawy - Mohamed Hany (62nd Karim Walid ), Saad Samir , Salif Coulibaly , Ayman Ashraf - Hossam Ashour , Amr Elsolia (75th Ahmed Hamoudi ) - Walid Soliman , Mohamed Gaber (62nd Salah Mohsen ), Islam Mohareb - Marwan Mohsen Coach: Patrice Carteron ( France )
	1: 0 Bguir (45th + 1 ') 2: 0 Bguir (54th) 3: 0 Badri (86th)
	Coulibaly (25th), Ben Cherifia (89th), Mejri (90th + 2 ')	Soliman (25.)

Web links

• Official website of the CAF (English)