Continental giants Wydad Casablanca, TP Mazembe, Esperance and Mamelodi Sundowns are among the teams to have reached the group stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League on Saturday.
But other notable sides like Moroccan club FAR Rabat and Guinean side Horoya failed to advance following the day’s other second-leg matches of the second round of the preliminary stage of the competition.
In Morocco, Wydad Casablanca continued their dominance of Hafia Conakry with a 3-0 second leg win sealing a 4-1 aggregate success.
Yahia Attiyat Allah and Hamdou Elhouni struck in the first half before Abdellah Haimoud completed the job after the break.
Wydad extend their remarkable run of reaching the group stage to nine consecutive seasons as they chase a third Champions League title.
However, their compatriots AS FAR suffered Champions League heartbreak, crashing out after a 3-1 aggregate defeat to Tunisia’s Etoile Sportive du Sahel.
Etoile won both legs 1-0 and 2-1 respectively to eliminate the shocked Moroccans.
Elsewhere, Tunisian powerhouses Esperance dispatched Ivorian side AS Douanes 1-0 on aggregate to progress.
A goalless draw in the second leg in Tunis proved enough after last week’s solitary away goal sealed the tie.
Mamelodi Sundowns safely navigated past Burundian minnows Bumamuru to reach the CAF Champions League group stage with a 6-0 aggregate win.
Goals from Mothobi Mvala and Teboho Mokoena earned the South African giants a 2-0 second-leg victory at home, rounding off a comfortable passage against limited opposition.
Sundowns remain in the hunt for a second Champions League crown after winning the tournament in 2016.
TP Mazembe marked their return to the group stage after a two-year absence by thrashing Nyasa Big Bullets of Malawi 4-0 to go through 5-0 on aggregate.
But Guinean side Horoya paid the price for a 3-1 first-leg deficit, exiting despite beating Ghana’s Medeama SC 2-1 in the second leg.
Tanzania’s Young Africans also reached the group stage, edging Al Merreikh of Sudan 3-0 on aggregate after a 1-0 home win on Saturday.
