Ahly draw 1-1 with Zamalek in Sunday's Champions League tie Al Ahly won Group B of the CAF Champions League, despite being held 1-1 by Zamalek in an Egyptian derby, and dodged a semi-final showdown with Esperance of Tunisia. Ahly face Sunshine Stars of Nigeria in the semi-finals next month , while Group B runners-up TP Mazembe from Congo DR meet defending champions Esperance.
The teams are chasing a place in the FIFA Club World Cup to be hosted by Japan during December, with the line-up already including Chelsea of England and Corinthians of Brazil.
Mohamed Barakat levelled for Ahly midway through the second half at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Mediterranean city Alexandria after Mohamed Ibrahim broke the deadlock just before half-time.
Ahly completed their six-match schedule with 11 points, one more than four-time African champions Mazembe, after three victories, two draws and a loss.
Already sure of a semi-finals spot, Mazembe surrendered first place after losing 1-0 away to Berekum Chelsea of Ghana, with Jordan Opoku scoring ten minutes from time.
Chelsea came third with nine points, a creditable achievement in their first Champions League appearance, and 12-goal Emmanuel Clottey is likely to finish leading scorer this season.
Clottey scored hat-tricks against former Champions League winners Raja Casablanca of Morocco and Zamalek during his campaign and will line up for Esperance next year.
FIFA