Pitso Mosimane's Al Ahly secured the bronze medal at the FIFA Club World Cup after defeating Brazilian side Palmeiras via the penalty shoot-out on Thursday evening.
Mosimane made three changes from the loss to Bayern Munich, as Ibrahim El Hanafi, Walter Bwalya and Akram Tawfik were recalled, while Mahmoud Soliman and Hussein El Shahat were suspended by FIFA for this match for breaching Covid-19 protocols.
The game was open in the early exchanges, with Palmeiras coming close to grabbing the lead in the 11th minute after Rony unleashed a strike from outside the box that forced Mohamed El Shenawy into a fine save.
Amr El Soulia had a chance to break the deadlock for Al Ahly just before the half-hour mark after going on a solo run and had a strike at goal that missed the post by a whisker.
Mohamed Magdi Kafsha had a wonderful chance to give the Egyptian giants the lead on the stroke of halftime after receiving a cross inside the six-yard box but he guided his shot wide as the first stanza ended without goals.
Chances were hard to come by early in the second stanza, which prompted Mosimane to make a double change just before the hour-mark, with Junior Ajayi taking and Mohamed Sherif replacing Bwalya and Kafsha.
The changes for the Red Devils almost had the desired effect in the 68th minute as Ajayi found the back of the net but his goal was disallowed for offside.
Patrick de Paula had a great chance to snatch the winner for the Brazilian side in the last ten minutes after receiving a pass with space inside the box but he scuffed his shot just wide, which sent the match to penalties.
The was drama in the shoot-out, with back-to-back penalty misses from both sides before two consecutive spot-kicks but El Shenawy was the hero in the end for Al Ahly, as he saved the last spot-kick from Felipe Melo to inspire the Red Devils to a 3-2 win that earned them a third-place finish.
Click through the gallery above to view all the post-match festivities against Bayern:
