A 15th minute diving header by Mehdat Abdelmahdy put Egyptian side Zamalek in the semi-finals of the Caf Champions League at the expense of Tunisia's Esperance Sportive of Tunis.

Abdelmahdy headed the only goal of the match from a free kick to send the 90,000 crowd - which included Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Caf boss Issa Hayatou - wild.

But after the goal, Esperance took over with Ali Zitouni and Mourad Melki coming close to scoring the equalizer.

Zitouni missed a rebound off the post and two other players followed up, but failed to net.

It never got better for Zamalek, especially after Hazem Emam was replaced after pulling an injury to end a good afternoon for the Egyptian international.

His replacement in the 62nd minute Abdelhalim Aly could have made a good start but his effort from a Hossam Hassan pass went inches wide.

In an ill-tempered second-half veteran striker Hassan failed to score after the Esperance keeper, Jean-Jacques Tizie, had left his line to close down on Emam.

Zamalek played cautiously to defend the three points as the incoherent Tunisians struggled to draw level.

Zamalek's victory avoided a North African derby in the next stage - by finishing top of the group, the Egyptian side will play Tout Puissant Mazembe in the semi-finals.