Ahly took control of Zamalek Vs Al Ahly with two first-half goals, moving ahead 2-0 by the 32nd minute in the Egyptian Premier League Championship Group clash. Achraf Bencharki opened the scoring in the 18th minute, and Hussien El-Shahat doubled the lead 14 minutes later.
Zamalek had started brightly, with Oday Dabbagh testing his luck from outside the area in the fifth minute and Nasser Mansi missing a clear chance wide of the right post in the 12th. But Ahly made its pressure count. Taher Mohamed Taher set up Bencharki for the opener, then Bencharki turned provider for El-Shahat’s second goal.
The game’s key swing came almost immediately after the opener, when Zamalek midfielder Ahmed Fattouh was booked in the 19th minute for a foul on Bencharki. It was the kind of moment that underlined how quickly the match had tilted away from Zamalek, who had already been forced into a change in the lineup with Mohamed Ismail starting in place of the injured veteran right-back Omar Gaber. El Mahdi Soliman started in goal for Zamalek, while Mostafa Shobeir was in net for Ahly.
The live coverage of the match laid out the rhythm of the first half in sharp detail, with Zamalek’s early promise fading as Ahly’s finishing and movement inside the area proved decisive. In a derby built on margins, Ahly found them first and used them well. Zamalek will need a response after the break if it is to drag the contest back into balance.