Defender Mohamed Abdelmonem equalized on the night as Al Ahly of Egypt drew 1-1 at Wydad Casablanca of Morocco on Sunday to win the CAF Champions League for a record-extending 11th time.

His goal cancelled the lead Yahia Attiyat Allah gave the defending champions and earned the Cairo club a 3-2 aggregate victory after building a 2-1 first-leg lead seven days ago.

Ahly scored 27 goals in 14 matches en route to continental glory and four of them came from Egypt center-back Abdelmonem.

Defeat for Wydad ended a run of two final victories over Ahly, and they paid the penalty for concentrating on defending their fragile second-leg lead instead of seeking further goals.

Unlike Europe, away goals count double in African club competitions when sides finish level on aggregate and Wydad would have retained the trophy had they won 1-0.

Ahly pocketed a record $4 million for winning and Marcel Koller became the first Swiss coach to win the premier African club competition.

It was the third Champions League triumph in four seasons for Ahly after victories over fellow Egyptians Zamalek in 2020 and Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa the following year.

Among the capacity crowd in the 65,000-seat Stade Mohammed V was Patrice Motsepe, a South African billionaire and president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

For referee Bamlak Tessema Weyesa from Ethiopia, it was a special occasion. It was his last match before retiring at the age of 42 after 14 years of handling international fixtures.

Wydad broke the deadlock when an Attiyat Allah free-kick close to the touchline floated into the goalmouth, eluded El Shenawy and landed in the far corner of the net.

Ahly made no headway before half-time as they tried to equalize and their frustrations led to yellow cards for Kahraba and El Shahat, while Bouhra was cautioned for wasting time.

Nobody was more relieved when a 51-minute opening half finished than the referee, who was battling to keep control of some bad-tempered Moroccans and Egyptians.

Midway through the second half smoke from flares restricted visibility leading to play being temporarily halted.

A set piece gave Wydad the lead and another one, a corner from Ali Maaloul, set up Abdelmonem to equalize with a glancing header into the far corner that stunned the crowd.

Ahly had plenty of second-half possession, but did not seriously threaten Wydad goalkeeper Youssef el Motie before leveling.