Top Clash: Zamalek chase 'miracle' in CAF Champions League final

Zamalek of Egypt can draw comfort from the past as they seek to overturn a 3-0 deficit on Sunday in the second leg of the CAF Champions League final against Mamelodi Sundowns.

Canon Yaounde (Cameroon), Mouloudia Alger (Algeria) and Asante Kotoko (Ghana) faced similar dire circumstances to the Cairo club in previous finals and only the latter did not finish overall winners.

Another morale boost for the "White Knights" ahead of the return match at the 86,000-seat Borg El Arab stadium in Alexandria is that no South African club has beaten Egyptian rivals in a final.

Sundowns fell to Al Ahly in their only previous appearance 15 years ago and the same Cairo club defeated Orlando Pirates in the 2013 final.

But Sundowns have had the measure of Zamalek this season, also beating them 1-0 at home and 2-1 away during the group phase.

"We need a miracle to win the trophy," admitted coach Moamen Soliman this week after watching his mix of Egyptian and Nigerian stars outplayed in Pretoria last weekend.

"But we won by four goals at home to Wydad Casablanca in the semi-finals and lost by three goals in Morocco so nothing is impossible.

"Sundowns have fantastic players who are strong and fast. We have to be stronger and faster than them.

"We have to give everything, attack relentlessly and not think too much about Sundowns."

Outspoken Zamalek club chairman Mortada Mansour expects much more from his team in a return match expected to be watched by a crowd restricted to 40,000 for security reasons.

Zamalek's goalkeeper Ahmed Elshenawy let three goals past him during the first leg of the CAF Championship final on October 15, 2016 in Pretoria (AFP/File)