Zamalek reclaim top spot with 2-0 win over Ismaily in Nile Egyptian League

Zamalek returned to the summit of the Nile Egyptian League after earning a 2-0 victory over Ismaily on Thursday evening at the Suez Canal Authority Stadium in the seventh round of the competition.

The match got off to a dramatic start. In the 5th minute, Zamalek’s Juan Bezerra went down inside the penalty area after being pulled by an Ismaily defender. Initially, the referee waved play on, but a VAR review overturned the decision and awarded a spot-kick. Veteran playmaker Abdallah El Said made no mistake, converting in the 8th minute to hand the visitors an early lead.

Zamalek nearly doubled their advantage just before halftime when El Said slipped a perfect through ball behind the Ismaily defense. It found Oday Dabbagh clean through on goal, but the forward squandered the golden chance by firing over the empty net in stoppage time of the first half.

Dabbagh, however, redeemed himself in the 56th minute. The Palestinian forward pressed high, dispossessed the Ismaily backline, and raced clear before chipping the ball neatly over goalkeeper Abdallah Gamal to seal the win for Zamalek.

The Whites continued the remainder of the match with the same result, securing all three points and moving back into first place with 16 points. Ismaily’s struggles, meanwhile, continued as they remain stuck in 19th place with only 4 points, having suffered five defeats alongside one win and one draw.

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