Wydad Casablanca defeated Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 in the first leg of the inaugural African Football League final on Sunday, giving the Moroccan giants the advantage heading into the second leg next week.
An own goal from Rivaldo Coetzee and a superb late strike by Anas Serrhat gave Wydad the lead, but Sundowns pulled one back through Abdelmonem Boutouil’s penalty.
Wydad nearly extended their lead in injury time, but Hamdou Elhouni’s curling effort hit the crossbar.
The result means Wydad will defend a 2-1 aggregate lead in front of over 40,000 fans at Sundowns’ Loftus Versfeld Stadium next Sunday.
Sundowns will take encouragement from previous wins against Al Ahly and Petro Atletico en route to the final, but Wydad are now firmly in the driving seat to be crowned the first-ever AFL champions.
