Tunisia Ligue 1: Esperance edge rivals Etoile in Classico; Stade Tunisien remain top

Tunisia’s biggest rivalry took place on Sunday and it was reigning national champions Esperance ST who came out on top with a 1-0 victory over Etoile du Sahel.

Following plenty of pre-match drama, EST’s Brazilian magician Yan Sasse was the hero for Taraji supporters after he headed in from close range in the 28th minute for the only goal of the match. Esperance have now won the last seven meetings between the two powerhouses of Tunisian football.

Esperance remain a point back of league leaders Stade Tunisien, who maintained their undefeated record on Saturday with a confident 3-0 victory over ES Zarzis. Recent acquisition Amine Haboubi scored his first two goals in the ST shirt as the hosts swatted away a potentially challenging match without too much trouble.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Tunisia U-20 national team forward Omar Ben Ali scored twice as CS Sfaxien defeat JS Kairouan 3-0 while Raed Chikhaoui’s late goal helped US Monastir overcome a tough challenge from JS Omrane with a 2-1 result.

On Friday, Club Africain were the only winners with a 1-0 result over AS Gabes. It is tight at the top of the table with Stade Tunisien leading Esperance by a point, with only five points separating ST from fifth place ES Zarzis.

Tunisia Ligue 1 Results: Round 9

US Monastir 2-1 JS Omrane

JS Kairouan 0-3 CS Sfaxien

Esperance ST 1-0 Etoile du Sahel

Stade Tunisien 3-0 ES Zarzis

Olympique Beja 0-6 AS Marsa

AS Soliman 0-0 CA Bizertin

AS Gabes 0-1 Club Africain

ES Metlaoui 1-1 US Ben Guerdane