Fresh from their third place at the Club World Cup Al Ahly continued the defence of their African Champions League title with a 3-0 win over Sudan's Al Merrikh on Tuesday.

It took the nine-time winners until the 57th minute to break the deadlock in Cairo when Mohamed 'Afsha' Magdy headed a Mohamed Hany cross

Mahmoud Kahraba scored a second goal six minutes later and then DR Congo-born Walter Bwalya put the outcome beyond doubt with a goal on 71 minutes in the Group A match staged behind closed doors because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Our opponent today stood their ground during the first half, but once we scored the opener we controlled the game," Ahly's South African coach Pitso Mosimane said after the match.

"I kept the team's tactics the same even before scoring the goals. We depended today on the wings as Al Merrikh were blocking the centre of the field."

Al Ahly will travel to Tanzania on Friday ahead of Tuesday's game against Simba, who also won their opening Group A match be beating AS Vita Club 1-0 in Kinshasa,

Group winners and runners-up advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League which carries a $2.5 million (2 million euros) first prize.