Rangers, Scottland and Al Hilal take commanding leads in TotalEnergies CAF Champions League qualifiers

Nigeria's Rangers International and Zimbabwe's Scottland FC claimed impressive 2-0 home victories over MC Alger and Petro Atlético respectively, while Sudan's Al Hilal Omdurman secured an important away win against Ethiopia's Sidama Bunna in the first legs of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League 2026/27 Second Preliminary Round on Sunday.

The three results put the winning clubs in strong positions ahead of the return legs, with places in the group stage at stake.

Ten-man Rangers overcome MC Alger in dramatic encounter

Nigeria's Rangers International produced a determined performance to defeat Algeria's MC Alger 2-0 despite playing much of their TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Second Preliminary Round first-leg encounter with ten men in Abeokuta on Sunday.

Two late goals, including an 83rd-minute penalty and an 87th-minute strike from James Emo, handed the Nigerian side a valuable advantage ahead of the return leg in Algeria on 23 October.

Rangers suffered an early setback when a player was sent off in the 13th minute at the MKO Abiola Sports Complex, forcing coach Fidelis Ilechukwu to reorganise his team.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, the hosts resisted MC Alger's attempts to take control, with neither side managing to score before half-time.

The visitors were also reduced to ten men in the 52nd minute when their number 23 received a red card, although the dismissal was followed by a temporary delay.

An MC Alger official was subsequently sent from the technical area in the 70th minute as tensions increased.

Rangers finally broke the deadlock from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute before Emo doubled their lead four minutes later.

The victory leaves the Nigerian club needing to protect their two-goal advantage in Algeria to secure qualification for the group stage.

Billiat and Musona fire Scottland past Petro Atlético

Zimbabwe's Scottland FC moved closer to the group stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League after defeating Angola's Petro Atlético 2-0 in their Second Preliminary Round first-leg encounter on Sunday.

Second-half goals from former Zimbabwe internationals Khama Billiat and Knowledge Musona secured an impressive victory against the experienced Angolan club.

Billiat opened the scoring in the 67th minute before Musona added a second in the 80th minute to give Scottland a commanding advantage ahead of the return fixture.

Petro Atlético endured a difficult afternoon after having a player dismissed in the second minute, leaving the visitors to contest almost the entire match with ten men.

Despite their numerical superiority, Scottland were unable to break the deadlock during the opening 45 minutes as the Angolan side held firm.

The breakthrough eventually arrived midway through the second half when Billiat found the net to put the Zimbabwean club ahead.

Musona then strengthened the hosts' position with ten minutes remaining, completing an important victory.

Scottland will now travel to Angola seeking to defend their advantage, while Petro Atlético face a difficult task to overturn the deficit and keep their continental campaign alive.

Al Hilal secure important away victory over Sidama Bunna

Sudan's Al Hilal Omdurman strengthened their prospects of reaching the group stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League with a 2-0 away victory over Ethiopia's Sidama Bunna in the first leg of their Second Preliminary Round tie on Sunday.

An early own goal and a late strike from Mohamed Abdelrahman gave the Sudanese giants a comfortable advantage ahead of the return fixture.

Al Hilal made the ideal start when Sidama Bunna conceded an own goal in the 11th minute, handing the visitors an early lead.

The Ethiopian side were unable to find an equaliser before half-time, leaving Al Hilal in control of the contest.

The Sudanese club maintained their narrow advantage throughout much of the second half as Sidama Bunna sought a way back into the encounter.

With the match approaching its conclusion, Abdelrahman struck in the 90th minute to double Al Hilal's lead and complete the scoring.

The result leaves Sidama Bunna needing to overturn a two-goal deficit in the return leg to remain in the competition.

Al Hilal, meanwhile, will be confident of completing qualification for the group stage as they continue their pursuit of continental success.