It has been an exhilarating week for Congo DR, with days of celebration sandwiched in between two major footballing triumphs.

The giant central African country, beset for decades by civil strife, have enjoyed a rare opportunity to put aside its turmoil over the last week after winning the African Nations Championship in Côte d'Ivoire. It was an unexpected success in the inaugural edition of a tournament contested by domestic-based players, and the team came home to tumultuous welcome.

After being flown home in the presidential jet, joining President Joseph Kabila as he toured the east of the country, they were each awarded a 4x4 jeep and found themselves greeted by thousands of delirious fans as they were paraded through the streets of Kinshasa.

Amid all this revelry, it was expected TP Mazembe Englebert, the pride of Congo DR's club scene, might be distracted ahead of their CAF Champions League second round first leg tie against Petro Atletico of Angola. As it was, the taste for victory seemed to have merely whetted the appetites of Tresor Mputu and his team-mates, who prolonged Congolese celebrations with a convincing 3-0 victory. It was almost inevitable that Mputu, named the African Nations Championship's best player, would score twice in a convincing win for Des Corbeaux.

Only holders Al Ahly of Egypt managed to match the three-goal spread of Mazembe. The Cairo giants, setting out to win the continental title for a fourth time in five years, started the defence of their trophy with a 2-0 win over Young Africans of Tanzania. Al Ahly had been given a bye in the first round and played a makeshift selection for the encounter on Sunday, resting key midfielder Mohamed Aboutrika. In Aboutrika's absence, his usual partner Mohamed Barakat assumed the mantle of tormentor in chief with two goals, in between which was sandwiched a strike from Flavio, the Angolan international.

Sunday's matches also threw up two surprise results, with away wins for Libya's Al Ahli Tripoli and the Malian champions Djoliba. Al Ahli upset JS Kabylie 2-1 in Tizi Ouzou, giving coach Nouredine Saadi a particularly satisfying return to his native Algeria.

Djoliba, meanwhile, snatched a 2-1 triumph over Tunisian champions Club Africain with Lassina Diarra scoring the winner three minutes into stoppage time. Last year's runners-up Coton Sport also needed a late goal to snatch a narrow 2-1 home win over Mangasport of Gabon, a narrow lead ahead of the return leg on the first weekend of April.

Among the other sides who will be hoping to upset the formbook are Zesco United of Zambia, Nigeria's Heartland FC and Kampala City Council of Uganda, all handily placed against more fancied opponents.


CAF Champions League second round, first leg results:
Africa Sports (Côte d'Ivoire) 0-0 ZESCO United (Zambia)
Al Ahly (Egypt) 3-0 Young Africans (Tanzania)
Coton Sport (Cameroon) 2-1 Mangasport (Gabon)
Al Hilal (Sudan) 3-1 Stade Tamponnaise (Reunion)
TP Mazembe Englebert (DR Congo) 3-0 Petro Atletico (Angola)
Heartland FC (Nigeria) 3-1 Royal Armed Forces (Morocco)
Asante Kotoko (Ghana) 3-1 Ittihad Khemisset (Morocco)
JS Kabylie (Algeria) 1-2 Al Ahli Tripoli (Libya)
Club Africain (Tunisia) 1-2 Djoliba (Mali)
ASEC Abidjan (Ivory Coast) 2-0 Etoile Filante (Burkina Faso)
AS Douanes (Senegal) 1-1 Kano Pillars (Nigeria)
Primeiro Agosto (Angola) 0-1 Canon Yaounde (Cameroon)
Etoile Sahel (Tunisia) 2-1 ASO Chlef (Algeria)
Ajax Cape Town (South Africa) 3-2 Monomotapa (Zimbabwe)
Kampala City Council (Uganda) 2-1 SuperSport United (South Africa)
Al Ittihad (Libya) 1-1 Al Merreikh (Sudan)