February 24, (THEWILL) – Al Merrikh secured their first victory in Group D of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League with a 1-0 win over CR Belouizdad at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium in Libya.
Paulo de Souza’s first-half penalty proved to be the decisive goal, as the Sudanese side moved up to second place in the group with four points.
Belouizdad, who have now lost two consecutive matches after last weekend’s defeat against Esperance, struggled to find their rhythm and create scoring opportunities. In contrast, Al Merrikh dominated the opening half, with de Souza’s penalty being the only goal of the game.
Despite some pressure from the Algerians in the second half, Al Merrikh held firm and came close to scoring a second goal through de Souza and Hussein Al Gozzoli. However, Belouizdad almost snatched a late equaliser through Emmanuel Iwuala, only for the goal to be disallowed due to a foul in the build-up.
Al Merrikh’s victory puts them in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition, while Belouizdad will need to improve their performances if they hope to progress.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
