'Ahly have a psychological barrier against Sundowns'

A CAF Champions League winner has now claimed that Al Ahly have a certain "psychological barrier" against Mamelodi Sundowns.

Only four teams remain in the Champions League this season, namely Al Ahly, Sundowns, Esperance de Tunis and TP Mazembe.

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Many have tipped the Egyptian giants as favourites to win the competition, along with the South African club, with the two sides poised to play in the final if they both win their respective semi-final fixtures over the next two weeks.

However, Ahly, for now, will focus their attention on local rivals Zamalek, whom they are set to face in the Egyptian Premier League on Monday evening. 

Speaking ahead of the Egyptian derby, former Egypt international Khaled El Ghandour, who won the CAFCL with Zamalek in the 2001/02 campaign, insisted that his former club has a psychological problem when it comes to matches against Ahly, adding that this is also the case for the Red Devils against Masandawana.

"Al Ahly is psychologically superior to Zamalek. In the last four matches, Al Ahly achieved victory over Zamalek with great results, even in the cup final match. Al Ahly had a bad level, but it succeeded in winning 2-0, and before that, they won 3-0, 4-1, and 5-3," Ghandour said, per the Egypt Independent.

"The Zamalek team has a psychological problem with Al Ahly.

"An example of this is when Al Ahly faces Sundowns team in the African Champions League.

"You feel that the players have a psychological barrier in the Sundowns match, especially the matches are played in South Africa.

"The same psychological barrier exists when Zamalek players do not have the confidence to win, to the point that some of the Zamalek fans were satisfied with a