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Casablanca’s Raja Club Athletic beat Algerian club ES Setif (1-0) on February 18 at the July Fifth Stadium in Algeria.
The precious victory came in the second round of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
Raja players’ performance was unconvincing in the first half of the game, limiting themselves to playing in the middle of the field rather than attacking with momentum and belief.
Both Raja goalkeeper Marouane Fakhr and ES Setif goalkeeper Zakaria Bouhalfaya were more like spectators than actually involved in the game.
Casablanca’s Raja were cautious during the first half, as the Algerians dominated the field.
While the first half ended in a tepid goalless draw, the second kicked off with Raja’s “green eagles” growing back into the game and trying to reach ES Setif net.
Raja had more possession and created chances over ES Setif. The growing Casablanca’s attacks led to a winning goal by Mohamed Zrida at the 71st minute.
Raja kept its place in the top of the group with six points, earning three in this game.
After their lone strike, the Green Eagles took control of the game and saw it through to the conclusion. They created many more chances but failed to score a second goal that would have given them a comfortable lead over their Algerian opponents.
Desperate for an equalizer, Es Setif tried to get back to the game and pressure Raja as the Moroccan club failed to take its chances.
But Raja’s solid defensive line was tough for the ES Setif to break, and Mohsine Moutaouali and his teammates kept another precious clean sheet as a result.
On February 12, Raja moved to the top of the group, earning three points after Moutaouali scored the only goal of the match against South Africa’s AmaZulu.
ES Setif, meanwhile, was stuck in the fourth position with three points it earned against Guinea’s Horoya.
Wydad is set to play against Angola’s Atletico Petroleos de Lunada today at 2 p.m.
