Pyramids stay perfect after eight rounds as Al Ahly and Zamalek keep the Egyptian title race alive

Three wins, each by one goal

Pyramids kept their perfect start with a 2-1 win over Wadi Degla. Mahmoud Saber put Pyramids ahead in the 11th minute, Ahmed Abdeen equalised for Degla, and Mostafa Zico restored the lead in the 58th minute. It was Pyramids’ eighth win in eight league matches — the only perfect record left in the division — and it took them to 24 points, four clear at the top.

Al Ahly stayed second with a hard-earned 1-0 win over Modern Sport, settled by Omar El Saey’s goal in the 17th minute. The win took Al Ahly to 20 points from eight matches: six wins and two draws, with no defeat so far this season. Modern Sport, who had started the round in the chasing pack, stayed on 13 points in sixth place.

Zamalek stayed third with a late 2-1 win over Arab Contractors (Al Mokawloon). Zamalek led, Mokawloon levelled in the 56th minute, and Chico Banza struck the winner in the 88th minute to take Zamalek to 19 points — six wins, one draw and one defeat, that defeat having come against Al Ahly in the Cairo derby. Mokawloon stayed on 11 points in seventh.

What the numbers say after eight rounds

The three clubs are separated by only five points, and the goal records underline how tight the race is at the top. Pyramids have scored 19 and conceded only four, the best attack and joint-best defence of the three. Al Ahly have scored 15 and conceded six, while Zamalek have scored 11 and conceded four — the joint-best defensive record alongside Pyramids. No other club is within six points of Zamalek: the chasing pack is led by Modern Sport on 13 points and Mokawloon on 11.

The striking feature of round 8 is that none of the three wins was comfortable. Each came by a single goal, and each required a decisive moment late or early — a 17th-minute winner for Al Ahly, a second-half winner for Pyramids, and an 88th-minute winner for Zamalek. That pattern, repeated across the round, is why the reports of the round describe it as a round without a guaranteed result: the big names won, but none of them won easily.

What comes next

The next head-to-head at the top is the one the whole race is building towards: Al Ahly against Pyramids at Cairo International Stadium in Nasr City on 23 November, after the international break. A Pyramids win there would stretch their lead to seven points; an Al Ahly win would cut it to a single point and hand the champions-elect of the early season their first defeat. Before that, Egypt’s national team are due to open camp on 9 November ahead of Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Malawi, with a home match at Cairo International Stadium on 13 November — so the Cairo clubs’ players will barely pause before the club race resumes.

For now, the picture is simple. Pyramids have won everything and lead. Al Ahly have lost nothing and chase. Zamalek are one point behind Al Ahly and four behind the leaders, with their only defeat coming in the derby. Eight rounds in, the title race in Greater Cairo is still a three-club race — and the next meeting between the top two will say a great deal about whether it stays that way.