Egyptian champions Ahli finished last in the Wembley tournament, Ahmed Morsy reports Six-time African champions Ahli were dealt two knockouts in the friendly Wembley tournament, finishing last in the four-club event. After crashing to a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Celtic of Scotland, Ahli were at the receiving end of another drubbing, 4-1 to European champions Barcelona. Celtic won the debut Wembley Cup after claiming a deserved 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspurs on Sunday. Barcelona, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Tottenham before crushing Ahli, came second with four points. English side Tottenham ended up third on one point while Egyptian champions Ahli finished rock bottom. Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola fielded a star-less line- up, keeping his big guns on the bench, much to the relief of Ahli, who were spanked by Celtic on Friday. Still, it was no contest. Bojan Krkic, Jose Manuel Rueda, Jeffren and Pedro wrapped up an easy win for the Blaugrana, while Hani El-Egeizi scored Ahli's only goal in the game and in fact in the entire tournament. After 16 minutes, Krkic, who scored on his debut against Ahli in a friendly in Cairo in April 2007, found the Egyptian giants' net once again when he ran rings around Ahmed El-Sayed, before firing in from a difficult angle to give his side the lead. Barca remained in charge for a while, but Ahli redeemed themselves midway through the first half and their efforts paid off in the 31st minute. Ahli's right-back Ahmed Ahli charged upfield in an outstanding counter-attack move before beating the offside trap with a deft pass to El-Egeizi, who rounded Jorquera to hit an empty net. Four minutes from the break, Rueda feinted past Moataz Eno, before unleashing an unstoppable screamer from 25 yards into Amir Abdel-Hamid's top left corner. Guardiola made a number of substitutions at half time including Yaya Toure, Victor Valdes and most importantly Lionel Messi. Eleven minutes after the interval, Barcelona left- wing Jeffren easily tapped in the third goal during which Ahli keeper Abdel-Hamid was injured. Consequently, youngster Ahmed Abdel-Moneim came on as a substitute and was beaten seven minutes after his introduction by a neat finish from Pedro. However, the 21-year-old goalkeeper made a couple of fine saves to thwart Jeffren and Dalmau, denying Barca a fifth goal. Liberian striker Francis Doe replaced El-Egeizi and came close to scoring a late consolation for Ahli, but his effort was blocked by Valdes. In match No 2, Celtic had the upper hand during the first half and were unlucky not to break the deadlock more than once against Tottenham. The Scottish giants went to the locker room 2-0, thanks to goals by Massimo Donati and Scott McDonald. Three second-half goals from Shaun Maloney, McDonald and Chris Killen ensured Ahli had a night to forget at the 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium. Ahli coach Hossam El-Badri played with the same 4-4-2 formation he deployed in last week's 2-0 defeat to Haras Al-Hedoud in the Egyptian Super Cup. El-Badri said he did not intend to switch the newly- deployed 4-4-2 formation despite the team's heavy defeats in the Wembley Cup. Several pundits criticised El-Badri for his insistence to play without a natural sweeper. Most of Egyptian clubs play with a 3-5-2 formation by which Ahli themselves won 19 trophies under the leadership of Portuguese coach Manuel Jose. Haras Al-Hedoud, which won the cup earlier this year, were previously the only Egyptian exception employing 4-4-2 before the Arab Contractors joined them. "Do not blame the formation," El-Badri told Al-Hayat TV following Ahli's defeat against Barcelona. "We want to improve by deploying a 4-4-2 formation. Yes there are some mistakes but the players are gradually getting used to the new system." Indeed the most-played formation worldwide is 4-4-2 but players should learn it staring from their junior years. Ahli players will need time to absorb it, especially the defence, to avoid its many pitfalls.
