Essam El-Hadary, former goalkeeper of the Egyptian national team, Al Ahly, and Zamalek, confirmed that Al Ahly deserved the victory in the derby match, pointing out that the Red team’s performance was superior and took advantage of their opponent’s mistakes.

In statements to “On Sport” channel, El-Hadary highlighted the role of goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawy in securing the result early, considering the save he made in the 3rd minute as a “decisive and pivotal moment” in the entire match.

El-Hadary said: “Al Ahly was the better team on the field and significantly improved their performance in the second half, while Zamalek clearly struggled defensively, allowing Al Ahly to impose control.”

The goalkeeping legend gave special praise to the duo Hussein El-Shahat and Mohamed El-Shennawy, considering El-Shahat the man of the match, saying: “El-Shennawy performed very impressively, was very brave and focused on every detail of the match. Most importantly, his timing in coming off his line in most situations was always excellent and correct, indicating high concentration and great goalkeeping experience.”

Regarding Zamalek’s goalkeeper Mohamed Sobhi, he praised his level despite some mistakes, explaining that it was Sobhi’s second derby, unlike El-Shennawy who played his twelfth derby.

El-Hadary concluded his statements by emphasizing that Al Ahly’s exploitation of defensive errors and the brilliance of its stars were the main reasons for ending the match in their favor.