African Club of the Century Al Ahly defeated Italian giants Roma 2-1 in a friendly in Cairo to maintain their record of good form against European opposition.
Goals from Ibrahim Said and Avelino Lopes in the first half were enough to leave Roma with too much to do, especially after they were reduced to ten men shortly after the break.
In front of 85,000 at Cairo Stadium, Said opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a well-taken effort.
And Angolan Lopes netted the winner on 43 minutes for Ahly, who beat Real Madrid in a
preseason friendly last year.
Italy striker Vincenzo Montella halved the deficit for Roma from the penalty spot almost straight after half time.
But Roma`s French defender Jonathon Zebina was then sent off, leaving the Italians too much to do.
Spectators were disappointed, however, by the general performance of Roma, who included Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta in their lineup.
However, Francesco Totti, the 25-year-old Roma playmaker, stayed in Italy to recover from a knee injury suffered in a training accident.
