Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly finished third(bronze) at the FIFA Club World Cup following a 3-2 penalty shoot-out win over Palmeiras of brazil.
A strong line-up from Mosimane following the semi-final loss to Bayern Munich showed, but a change before kickoff saw Ali Maaloul removed for Yasser Ibrahim due to injury in the warm-up.
The game was open in the early exchanges, with Palmeiras coming close to grabbing the lead in the 11th minute after Rony unleashed a strike from outside the box that was saved by shot-stopper Mohamed El Shenawy.
Amr El Soulia had a chance to break the deadlock for Al Ahly just before the half-hour mark after going on a solo run and had a strike at goal that missed the post by a whisker.
The Cairo Red Devils looked for more firepower up front in the middle of the second half and introduced Mohamed Sheriff for Afsha and Junior Oluwafemi in for Walter Bwalya.
Junior Ajayi looked to have given Ahly the lead a little before the closing period after helping in a volley from El Soleya, but it was disallowed for offside.
The game was in the balance in the dying minutes, with both sides looking to steal it but they lacked the finishing touches and the match went straight to penalties after a goalless stalemate in regulation time.
The was drama in the shootouts, with back-to-back penalty misses from both sides for two consecutive spot-kicks but as El Shenawy was the hero in the end for Al Ahly, as he saved the last spot-kick from Felipe Melo to inspire the Red Devils to a 3-2 win that earned them a third-place finish and a bronze medal while Palmeiras finished fourth.
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