Al Ahly of Egypt whitewashed Gabon’s CF Mounana 4-0 in the African Champions first round first leg at Cairo International Stadium Wednesday to begin their quest for a record ninth title on a high.

Abdullah El-Said was the star of the night – grabbing a brace with Marwan Mohsen and Walid Azaro scoring a goal apiece for the emphatic victory.

The Red Devils are now one leg into the groups stage of the tournament ahead of the return match next week in Gabon where a draw or a simple win will sail them through to the lucrative stage.

In the match they oozed class and took charge of from start to finish, the hosts got the lead through Mohsen who struck home the opener from close range for a deserved 1-0 lead in the 14th minute.

Red hot Azaro, who is currently enjoying a superb domestic form, doubled the lead in the in the 22nd minute for a 2-0 half time score.

Abdullah inscribed his name on the scoreboard for the first time in the 65th minute before netting the brace four minutes later.

Al Ahly are eight times African Champions. They finished runners-up to Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca in the last season’s campaign and are seen as hot favorites for this year’s glory.

In other matches of the day Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel thumped visiting Nogerian side Plateau United 4-2 while little known Township Rollers of Botswana shocked Yanga SC of Tanzania 2-1 in Dar Es Salaam.

More matches of the round of 32 will be played today including a clash between two times champions Esperance du Tunis and 1987 CAF Winners Cup winners Gor Mahia of Kenya.