TP MAZEMBE have claimed the African Champions League title for the fourth time. The Congolese side drew 1-1 with Tunisia’s Esperance in the second leg of the final but their 5-0 victory in the first match secured them the win.

Esperance needed an extraordinary turnaround, and despite a spirited performance, they could not do enough.
Harrison Afful put them in front in the 13th minute but the goal was cancelled out by Deo Kanda with 20 minutes to go.

Esperance defender Ayman Ben Amor was sent off shortly after Afful’s goal to further hamper the home side’s chances and Mazembe’s 6-1 aggregate victory was fully deserved.

"This means life to me,” the Mazembe midfielder Christopher Semakweri told the BBC after the match.

"We came here with a plan to win the title - the plan was to focus on the game. We didn’t care about the atmosphere, we are used to that.”

Mazembe earn a prize of $1.5 million and will go to Abu Dhabi to take part in the Club World Cup next month.
Mazembe will open their tournament in the Gulf state with a game against the Mexican champions, Pachuca.

Agencies