Morocco’s Raja Club Athletic has clinched its second TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup title, beating Algerian side JS Kabilye 2-1 in Cotonou, Benin, on Saturday, the CAF website reported.
In an entertaining final Raja took the lead when Soufiane Rahimi beat the Kabilye defensive line and rounded the keeper before tapping into an empty net.
The assistant referee had initially raised his flag for offside, but upon review, VAR awarded Raja the goal. They were 2-0 up after only 13 minutes when the Congolese forward Ben Malango controlled Oussama Soukhane’s cross before finishing with left-foot strike.
The second half swung in Kabilye’s favour thanks to two incidents. First, just seconds after the restart, the Canaries pulled a goal back through Mohamed Zakaria Boulahia after the Raja defence failed to clear a cross from the right. Then on 62 minutes Omar Arjoune was sent off for a dangerously high challenge. Though Kabilye piled on the pressure for the rest of the match, Raja held on to claim the trophy.