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Esperance crowned African champions with win over Wydad
Daily Post Staff
Tunisia's Esperance have won the African Champions League after a 1-0 win over 10-man Wydad Casablanca of Morocco in the second leg of the final.
Ghana's Harrison Afful got the only goal of the game to give the 'Blood and Gold' the victory.
They take the title 1-0 on aggregate after a 0-0 draw in the first leg.
Esperance will represent Africa at the Club World Cup in Japan which takes place next month and claim prize money of $1.5m (£933,000).
Wydad played most of the game a man down after defender Mourad el Massane was sent off for a crude challenge on Esperance striker Yannick N'djeng at the end of the first half.
Afful's strike came in the 21st minute of the game – the Ghanaian broke down the right hand side, cut infield and fired a powerful shot past Wydad's young keeper Yassine Bounou.
It was an impressive finish, out of keeping with a match that was mainly ragged and patchy, although – before they went down to 10 men – Wydad striker Fabrice Ondama was only denied by some impressive footwork from Esperance keeper Moez Ben Cherifa.
The two teams were playing their fourth game against each other in this year's Champions League – having also met in two group matches – and each of the previous three games had ended in a draw.
The over-familiarity served to cancel out the creativity and the spectacle was not enhanced by the sending-off of Massane.
But Esperance celebrated in style, as they claimed the continental crown for the first time in 17 years – and can now prepare to represent Africa on the global stage.
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Inter Milan striker, Romelu Lukaku, has become a target for Manchester City, who will invest £200 million in their squad in several areas at the end of the season, the UK Telegraph reports.
Pep Guardiola's men sit four points behind leaders Manchester United with a game in hand, ahead of their match with Crystal Palace on Sunday.
But City face a summer rebuilding, with the likes of Sergio Aguero, Fernandinho and Eric Garcia able to leave for free.
Guardiola will be in the market for a new striker, left back and a defensive midfielder.
One area of concern is a long-term replacement for striker Aguero, who has struggled with injury problems since the start of the season.
The 32-year-old striker's contract expires in six months, and he is yet to make a decision on his future.
But City will reportedly target a new striker even if Aguero ends up staying at the Etihad beyond this summer.
It is believed that Lukaku, Dortmund striker Erling Haaland and Benfica forward, Darwin Nunez have been targeted as long-term successors to Aguero.
Lukaku has previously played for City's rivals, Manchester United, between 2017 and 2019. But he struggled for minutes under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer despite scoring 42 goals in 96 appearances in all competitions.
Barcelona manager, Ronald Koeman, is hopeful of having Lionel Messi available for Sunday's Spanish Supercopa final against Athletic Bilbao.
Messi missed the semi-final win over Real Sociedad on Wednesday with a thigh injury.
However, the 33-year-old returned to full training on Saturday.
"We will see how he is [after Saturday's session]. Messi will have the final say. He knows his body the best.
"We are hopeful he will be available for the game. You always have a better chance if you have the best player in the world on your team," Koeman said ahead of the game.
Barca are unbeaten in nine games in all competitions and Sunday's final presents an opportunity to win some silverware after they finished without a trophy last season.
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