A thrilling and indecisive match took place tonight at the Stade Olympique de Radès for the 7th day of Ligue 1, between Espérance Sportive de Tunis and Etoile Sportive du Sahel. In an eventful encounter, the Blood and Gold snatched a precious victory (3-2) against their eternal rivals.

From the first minutes, Espérance took control of the game and looked threatening. But against the run of play, Etoile opened the scoring in the 13th minute through Raqui Laâouani, taking advantage of a quickly played touch. The Esperantists' reaction was immediate and they equalized five minutes later thanks to a goal from Rodrigo Rodrigues, well served by Ben Hamida.

The rest of the match was marked by numerous duels and sometimes excessive intensity on the part of the Etoilé. Aholou and Meriah tried to make the difference, but Etoile's goalkeeper, Ali Jemal, made some fine saves. At half-time, the two teams were tied at 1-1.

The second half started on the same basis with Espérance dominating the territory. But the Etoilists were dangerous on the counter-attack and managed to equalize again in the 68th minute through Salah Barhoumi.

However, Espérance did not give up and continued to push. In the 83rd minute, a penalty awarded to the Blood and Gold after consulting the VAR was converted by Meriah. In the last minutes, the Esperantists held on and won a precious victory that allows them to consolidate their first place in the standings.

This victory is important for the morale of the troops a week before the CAF Champions League final against Al Ahly. It also confirms the team's good form, as they delivered a solid and combative performance tonight.

Congratulations to the players for this precious victory that made the supporters proud and see you next Saturday for a new continental challenge!

EST Lineup: Memmiche, Ben Ali, Ben Hamida, Meriah, Ouahabi, Aholou, Chaâlali(c) (Ayeb 90'), Tka (Bouguerra 73'), Sasse (Ogbelu 90'), Ghacha (Sowe 90'+4) and Rodrigues.
Yellow cards: Ben Hamida, Tka, Meriah.