Raja crowned CAF Confed Cup champions
Raja Casablanca beat JS Kabylie 2-1 in the 2020/21 CAF Confederation Cup final at the Stade de l’Amitié in Cotonou, Benin on Saturday night.
Therefore, the Moroccan giants were crowned Confederation Cup champions for the second time, while Algeria’s Kabylie finished as runners-up.
The Green Devils started the match like a house on fire as they grabbed two goals within the first 14 minutes of the encounter which, in turn, left the Lions of Djurdjura stunned.
Soufiane Rahimi was the man who opened the scoring as he rounded Kabylie goalkeeper Oussama Benbot, before finding the back of the net to hand Raja a 1-0 lead just five minutes into the game.
Rahimi was the joint top scorer in this season’s Confederation Cup with five goals alongside his teammate Ben Malango at that point, but that changed moments later.
Raja went 2-0 up in the 14th minute when Oussama Soukhal played a low cross to Malango, who controlled the ball well, before firing past Benbot to double the Green Devils’ lead.
Kabylie surged forward in numbers as they looked to pull one back, but they struggled to penetrate Raja’s defence and the score was 2-0 to the reigning Moroccan champions at halftime.
The Lions of Djurdjura came out rejuvenated after the restart and they managed to score through Zakaria Boulahia, who netted with a powerful low shot a minute into the second-half to make it 2-1.
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Raja then suffered a blow when Omar Arjoune was given a straight red card for making a reckless challenge, with the Green Devils were reduced to 10 players just three minutes after the hour-mark.
Despite being numerically disadvantaged, Raja continued to attack and they had a chance to restore their two-goal lead with 16 minutes left, but Malango’s effort was fantastically saved by Benbot.
The momentum was with Kabylie in the closing stages of the match, but the Lions of Djurdjura were struggling to create clear-cut chances and ultimately, Raja ran out 2-1 winners on the night.