Amr Shaheen
BBC Sport, Cairo |
 Zamalek (in white) deserve to win |
Zamalek defeated their Cairo arch-rivals Al Ahly 3-1 in a crucial league game to tighten the gap at the top of the table. This was Ahly's first defeat of the season as the African champions Zamalek reduce the gap to just two points.
Zamalek opened the scoring through the 37-year-old veteran Hossam Hassan in the first-half which his side dominated and missed several chances.
In the second half, Ahly equalized through Ahmed Belal, who was back in action for the first time after a two-month injury.
Belal, who might move to the German side Bayer Leverkusen this summer, was able to score his 16th goal this season to top the league scorers.
However, only two minutes after the equalizer, Abdelhalim Ali put Zamalek back in the lead - chipping over Ahly's goalkeeper Essam El Hadary from the edge of the penalty area.
And another mistake by El Hadary five minutes to full time, assured Zamalek the points with Gamal Hamza scoring a rebound from a tight angle.
MMIX
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