Patrick Juillard, Media365: published on Monday, April 13, 2026 at 13:45
Esperance de Tunis suffered a home defeat against Mamelodi Sundowns, while RS Berkane faced a tough outcome in Rabat against FAR this weekend in the first leg of the African Champions League semi-finals.
Esperance de Tunis misses the mark in the African Champions League. The four-time champions were defeated by Mamelodi Sundowns (0-1) at their Radès stadium on Sunday night in the first leg of the semi-finals. In a closed and contentious match, the South Africans made the difference early in the second half with a header from Colombian Brayan Leon (50th minute), before heroically resisting towards the end of the match, despite being reduced to ten men due to Grant Kekana’s expulsion (84th minute).
Patrice Beaumelle’s men may regret the missed opportunity by the Frenchman Florian Danho, whose shot hit the post (32nd minute). To qualify, the Red and Gold will have to achieve a feat next weekend in Pretoria. Winners in 2016, the “Brazilians” have the upper hand to reach the final again, a year after their defeat against Al-Ahly, eliminated in the previous round by… Esperance de Tunis.
AS FAR makes a strong statement
The second semi-final offered a 100% Moroccan clash between AS FAR and RS Berkane. This fratricidal duel turned in favor of the military, winners (2-0) on Saturday night at their home at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
After a tense first half, everything was settled after the break. Ahmed Hammoudan (58th minute) and substitute Khalid Aât Ourkhan (79th minute) materialized the hosts’ increasing dominance. The 1985 C1 winners now approach the return leg in the land of oranges with a strong advantage.
Confederation Cup: Algerian clubs struggle
In the Confederation Cup, the African equivalent of the Europa League, the two Algerian clubs failed to take advantage of playing at home. USM Alger was held to a draw by the Moroccans from Olympique Club de Safi (0-0). Even with a numerical advantage towards the end of the match, the Red and Blacks couldn’t break the deadlock. Despite dominating, CR Belouizdad had to concede defeat against the Egyptians from Zamalek (0-1). The second legs promise to be challenging.
