A rare event: Teams to have overturned a first leg deficit in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League final
Morocco’s AS FAR go into the home leg of their TotalEnergies CAF Champions League 2025/26 final against Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in Rabat on Sunday needing to complete what has been a fairly rare feat down the years – overturning a first-leg deficit.
Sundowns won 1-0 in Pretoria last weekend to take their slender advantage to Morocco, giving them something to defend in what will be an electric atmosphere in Rabat.
It is certainly not unprecedented for a team to come from behind in the final, 11 teams have managed it in the past, but recent history suggests it is hard to do.
1966 – Stade d’Abidjan
The Ivorian side lost the first leg of their decider with Real Bamako of Mali 3-1, but two weeks later in Abidjan were given a cherished Christmas Day present by Joseph Bleziri, whose extra-time winner proved the difference.
They matched the 3-1 scoreline at home to make the aggregate 4-4 and force an additional 30 minutes. Bleziri’s strike in the 117th minute proved decisive.
1971 – Canon Yaoundé
This final was decided over three matches, with Ghana’s Asante Kotoko claiming a 3-0 victory in the first and Canon Yaoundé from Cameroon responding with a 2-0 victory in the second.
But aggregate score was not used to decide the winner and, as both teams had claimed a victory in their home leg, a third game was played in Yaoundé two days after the second leg and the home side triumphed 1-0.
1973 – AS Vita Club
More misery for Asante Kotoko as they again won the first leg at home 4-2, but lost the second away in Kinshasa.
It was back to using aggregate score and AS Vita Club’s 3-0 win put them 5-4 up on aggregate. Jean Mayanga’s two second-half goals proved crucial.
1976 – MC Alger
Guinea side Hafia took a healthy 3-0 lead in the first leg in Conakry but would be pegged back by the same scoreline in the return fixture in Algiers.
It took a 90th-minute goal from Omar Betrouni to give MC Alger the 3-0 lead and take the game to penalties.
There, it was the home side who kept their nerve as they won 3-1 via spot-kicks.
1979 – Union Douala
Ghana’s Hearts of Oak secured a 1-0 win in the first leg over Cameroon’s Union Douala thanks to a late goal from Joh Yawson.
But there would be even later drama in the second leg when Union Douala goalkeeper Joseph-Antoine Bell converted a penalty in the 90th minute to level the tie at 1-1 on aggregate.
Bell would also be the hero in the shoot-out as Union Douala held on for a 5-3 win via spot-kicks.
1988 – Entente de Sétif
Algerian side Entente de Sétif roared back from a first-leg loss to claim the title with a 4-0 success over Nigeria’s Iwuanyanwu Nationale in Constantine.
The West Africans held a 1-0 advantage from the home fixture and, after a goalless first half in the second match, were holding on.
But two goals in two minutes early in the second half turned the tie on its head and Sétif won easily in the end.
1996 – Zamalek
Both Zamalek from Egypt and Nigeria’s Shooting Stars won their home legs 2-1 in this tie, but both away sides scored what would prove crucial 89th-minute consolation goals.
Tarek Mostafa did so for Zamalek in Ibadan before Johnson Ademola did likewise for Shooting Stars in Cairo.
That sent the game to penalties, but it was the Egyptians who held on to claim the shoot-out 5-4.
1997 – Raja Casablanca
Ghana’s Obuasi Goldfields beat Raja Casablanca 1-0 in the first leg in Obuasi, but the Moroccan side claimed victory by the same margin in the return.
That sent the tie to penalties and it was Raja who triumphed 5-4 to take the crown.
2004 – Enyimba
Both sides won the home leg of the tie 2-1, with Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel claiming victory at the Stade Olympique de Sousse after coming back from conceding early.
But Enyimba also won 2-1 in Abuja, which sent the tie to penalties, and it was the home side who triumphed 5-3 for the second of back-to-back title wins.
2009 – TP Mazembe
Nigeria’s Heartland won the first leg of this final 2-1 in Owerri, but Tresor Mputu’s away goal in the game would prove crucial.
Mazembe’s 1-0 win in Lubumbashi meant it proved the difference as the DR Congo side took the tie on away goals. Compounding the Nigerians’ bad luck, Emmanuel Omodiagbe’s own goal in the second leg proved decisive.
2018 – Esperance
The last time a team overturned a first-leg deficit to win the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League was eight years ago.
Egypt’s Al Ahly claimed a 3-1 first-leg win over Esperance of Tunisia in Alexandria and headed to the return fixture in Tunis with confidence.
But Esperance claimed a 3-0 success thanks to goals from Saad Abdellah Bguir (two) and Anice Badri to seal a superb comeback win and take the tie 4-3 on aggregate.