Coach Cardoso made five changes to the Espérantiste starting line-up, a sign of a significant but necessary turnover. However, the Blood and Gold dominated the game, with a much higher possession rate than their opponents.
From the opening minutes, Espérance put pressure on the opposing goal. Bouchniba tried his luck as early as the 10th minute, but his shot lacked conviction. Stade Tunisien tried to disrupt Espérance's plans by adopting a high press, but to no avail. Ben Hammouda threatened Helal with a header in the 19th minute, but his shot was comfortably saved.
Tougaï saved Espérance from a certain goal in the 35th minute, repelling a Stadiste attempt in extremis. Derbali then tried his luck in the 39th minute, but his shot went over the bar. Despite their territorial domination, the Espérantistes were unable to convert their chances, lacking precision and automatisms in the final move.
The second half started in the same vein, with Espérance dominating but sterile. Ben Abda gave the Blood and Gold defence a scare when his shot was repelled in the 78th minute. And against the run of play, Stade Tunisien opened the scoring in the 80th minute through Youssouf Oumarou, who headed home a free-kick.
Marouane Sahraoui then doubled Stade Tunisien's lead in the 84th minute, taking advantage of a lightning counter-attack after an Espérantiste attempt to equalize had failed.
Tougaï had the chance to reduce the deficit in the 87th minute, but his shot went over the bar. The score remained the same until the final whistle, sealing Espérance's first league defeat this season.
This defeat is a blow for the Blood and Gold, who were on a run of three games without a win in the Playoffs. They will need to remobilize quickly to avoid losing ground to their title rivals.
Line-up: Memmiche, Bouchniba, Shili, Meriah, Tougaï(c), Ogbelu (Bukia 83'), Derbali, Ayeb, Sasse, Ghacha (Rodrigues 67') and Ben Hammouda (Bouguerra 67').
Yellow cards: Derbali, Ogbelu, Bouguerra.