Al-Ahly's first football team continued its winning streak in the Egyptian Premier League after defeating ZED 2-0 on Friday evening.
The match between Al-Ahly and ZED was held at Cairo International Stadium as part of the second round of the Premier League for the "2026-2027" season.
Lineups for the Al-Ahly vs. ZED match
Al-Ahly started the match with the following lineup: "Mostafa Shobeir, Mohamed Hany, Hady Ryad, Amr El-Gazar, Ahmed Nabil Koka, Marwan Attia, Ali Mahmoud, Ahmed Sayed Zizo, Ashraf Bencharqi, Monsef Bouqarrar, Taher Mohamed Taher".
ZED's lineup was as follows: "Ali Lotfi - Mohamed Rabia - Mohamed Hussein - Abdullah Bakri - Tarek Allaa - Ahmed Adel - Ahmed El-Sagheery - Mohamed Ezz - Mostafa Saad - Abdelrahman El-Banoubi - Mahmoud Oka".
Al-Ahly missed an early goal in the 5th minute after a cross from Taher Mohamed Taher met by Ashraf Bencharqi with a powerful volley, but Ali Lotfi made a brilliant save.
In the 7th minute, Ali Mahmoud delivered a dangerous cross that Bencharqi headed, but his shot went over Ali Lotfi's goal and out of play.
Bencharqi scores after 21 minutes
In the 21st minute, Al-Ahly succeeded in opening the scoring against ZED.
The goal came after Al-Ahly players pressed the ball which reached Marwan Attia; he dribbled forward and passed to Ashraf Bencharqi, who received it and fired a low shot past Ali Lotfi's left side into the net, making the score 1-0.
ZED nearly equalized in the 30th minute following a dangerous attack and a cross inside the penalty area that Abdelrahman El-Banoubi headed sharply, but Al-Ahly goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir made a brilliant save.
ZED tried again in the 34th minute with a shot from Oka, but it was easily saved by Mostafa Shobeir.
In the 43rd minute, ZED players appealed for a penalty claiming the ball hit Bencharqi's hand, but nothing was awarded after VAR confirmation.
ZED missed an equalizing opportunity in the 45+3rd minute after a wonderful run by El-Gazar followed by a low cross reaching Rabia, who struck it powerfully hitting the crossbar without any Al-Ahly defender involved; the ball rebounded to El-Banoubi who then blasted it over Mostafa Shobeir's goal and out of play.
The first half ended with Al-Ahly leading ZED 1-0.
ZED threatened Al-Ahly's goal in the 54th minute following a corner kick and a header, but it was easily saved by Mostafa Shobeir.
Al-Ahly showed their threat in the second half, specifically in the 56th minute after a shot from Zizo that went just wide of the post.
VAR awards Al-Ahly's second goal
In the 61st minute, Al-Ahly scored a second goal through Taher Mohamed Taher, but the assistant referee raised the offside flag against Ahmed Sayed Zizo.
VAR intervened to overturn the assistant referee's decision and award Al-Ahly's second goal (2-0), amidst protests from ZED players.
Al-Ahly launched a counterattack in the 76th minute reaching Monsef Bouqarrar, who dribbled forward but shot poorly, sending the ball over ZED's goal and out of play.
Al-Ahly's dominance continued as they threatened ZED's goal with another chance in the 79th minute after a run by Omar El-Saei who shot from inside the penalty area, but the ball went out of play.
In the 89th minute, Al-Ahly missed another opportunity after Omar El-Saei received the ball, dribbled forward, and struck it powerfully to the left of Ali Lotfi, sending it out of play.
The match ended with Al-Ahly defeating ZED 2-0, earning the Red Devils three new points in the league.
With this result (2-0), Al-Ahly secured their second victory in the Premier League, remaining atop the standings alongside Pyramids, Al-Masry, and Talaea El-Gaish.
Meanwhile, ZED remains winless after drawing 0-0 with Wadi Degla before losing to Al-Ahly.
To view the Egyptian Premier League standings table, click here
