The first minutes of the match between Al Ahly and Zamalek in the Egyptian Premier League passed amid great fan excitement at Cairo Stadium. In the 10th minute, Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy made a brilliant save against a dangerous attempt by Oday El-Dabbagh following a fast counterattack initiated by Juan Pereira, preventing Zamalek from opening the scoring.

In the same minute, Nasser Maher received a wonderful pass from Adam Kaid and was one-on-one with Al Ahly’s goal, but he shot the ball wide of the left post, keeping the score at 0-0 amid constant pressure from Zamalek players. In the 12th minute, Taher Mohamed Taher sent a cross into the penalty area, nearly resulting in an own goal by Zamalek defender Hossam Abdel-Meguid, but the white defense cleared the ball at the last moment.

In the 26th minute, the referee awarded Zamalek a penalty after a challenge between Yassin Merhi and Oday El-Dabbagh. Abdullah Al-Saeed attempted to take it, but El-Shenawy brilliantly saved the shot, before the referee decided to order a retake after consulting the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

Finally, in the 33rd minute, Hossam Abdel-Meguid scored Zamalek’s first goal from a powerful penalty, sending the ball into Al Ahly’s net and giving the white team the lead.

Zamalek’s lineup was as follows: Goalkeeper: Mohamed Sobhi; Defense: Omar Gaber, Hossam Abdel-Meguid, Mohamed Ismail, Mahmoud Bentayek; Midfield: Nabil Donja, Abdullah Al-Saeed, Nasser Maher; Attack: Juan Pereira, Oday El-Dabbagh, Adam Kaid.

Al Ahly’s lineup was: Goalkeeper: Mohamed El-Shenawy; Defense: Mohamed Hany, Yasser Ibrahim, Yassin Merhi, Ahmed Nabil Kouka; Midfield: Marwan Atiya, Mohamed Ali Ben Ramadan, Mahmoud Trezeguet, Taher Mohamed, Ashraf Ben Sharqi; Attack: Mohamed Sherif.