Defending champions Esperance made huge strides in their bid to reach the CAF Champions League  semi-final with a 3-2 quarter-final, first leg victory away at Club Sportif Constantine on Saturday.

Youcef Belaili came back to haunt his Algerian compatriots by thrusting Esperance ahead from the penalty in the sixth minute.

Two minutes after the half-time break, Ivorian midfielder Fousseny Coulibaly doubled Esperance’s advantage before Adil Djabout pulled a goal back for Constantine in the 49th minute.

The hosts thought they had were back in the contest when Nassim Yattou levelled the scoreline on 71 minutes, but Mohamed Yacoubi restored Esperance’s lead three minutes later to seal the important away win

The victory stretched the Tunisians’ unbeaten run in this competition to eight matches.Article continues below

Esperance will now host Constantine in next weekend’s return leg, with the advantage of three crucial away goals.

Going into this match with just two  defeats in their last 15 games away games, Esperance cemented their reputation as good travelers.

After starting the campaign on a high by not conceding in earlier matches, Constantine succumbed to a third consecutive defeat and a second one at home.New images for Game of Thrones Season 8 now outThe Plum ListSponsored