Job is not yet done, says Ahly coach Koller despite huge away win

Al Ahly head coach Marcel Koller has warned his players that the job is not yet done, despite their huge 3-0 win over Esperance in the first leg of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League in Rades on Friday night.

The score-line gives the record champions a good hold of the tie, especially as they play the return fixture at home, but Koller says they need to treat it as an even encounter in Cairo.

“We cannot go into the match with the thought that we have qualified for the final. Qualification has not yet been achieved and we will have to focus well for the match. There is nothing settled yet,” the Swiss coach said after the match.

Ahly will only need to avoid defeat in Cairo and at worse, even a 2-0 loss will still be enough. However, Koller doesn’t want to go into the match with these scenarios in mind and demands focus from his players.

Meanwhile, skipper Mohamed Elshenawy was delighted with the victory away from home and the performance given by his teammates.

“We knew that we would be facing a tough opponent and we prepared very well for this game. We will rejoice today but of course immediately we get back home, we have to start focusing on the return tie to give the same performance,” said the shot stopper.

The return tie is scheduled for next week in Cairo.