At a tense and demanding Radès Stadium, Espérance de Tunis claimed a hard-fought 1–0 victory over Stade Tunisien in the rescheduled match of the 20th round of Ligue 1. A deserved success built on a dominant first half, allowing the Blood and Gold to reclaim first place in the standings.

From the opening minutes, Esperance showed confidence and authority. Comfortable on the ball, they quickly imposed their rhythm and took control of proceedings. The first real chance of the match, however, came against the run of play: on a quick counter-attack, Ndiaye found himself in a good position but sent his effort over Memmiche’s crossbar (8’).

The response from the Blood and Gold was immediate and convincing. After a series of neat combinations in Stade Tunisien’s half, the breakthrough arrived in the 21st minute. Yan Sasse slipped a clever pass to Dräger, whose low cut-back found Tka perfectly positioned. The midfielder struck first time, leaving the goalkeeper helpless and sending the Radès crowd into celebration.

Esperance continued to push forward. Just a minute later, Diarra rattled the crossbar with a fine effort (22’), before firing over from another attacking move (26’). The dominance was total. On 35 minutes, Yan Sasse produced a moment of individual brilliance, winning the ball, controlling it superbly and beating the goalkeeper, only to see his shot crash against the post. The scoreline remained surprisingly narrow. Shortly before half-time, Sasse was forced off with a thigh injury and replaced by Boualia (41’). The interval came with Esperance leading 1–0, a score that hardly reflected their superiority.

The second half saw a noticeable drop in tempo, largely due to fatigue linked to the fasting period. Despite this, Esperance still created the clearer chances. On 69 minutes, a swift counter-attack ended with Danho unleashing a powerful strike, brilliantly tipped around the post by goalkeeper Farhati.

Clear opportunities became rare as the match wore on. Danho sent a free-kick well over the bar late in the game (85’), before Jabri had the final chance of the evening deep into stoppage time. His powerful counter-attacking effort was once again denied by the Stade Tunisien keeper, who pushed the ball out for a corner (90’+3).

Moments later, the final whistle confirmed a valuable and deserved victory. Though the closing stages were physically demanding, Esperance’s first-half control proved decisive. With this derby win, the Blood and Gold return to the top of the table — a success earned through discipline, quality and collective commitment. Now, recovery is the priority before the next challenges ahead.

EST Lineup: Memmiche, Dräger, Ben Hamida(c), Jelassi, Tougaï, Hadj-Ali (Guenichi 66'), Tka, Jebali (Rafia 82'), Sasse (Boualia 44'), Diarra (Jabri 81') and Diakité (Danho 66').
Booking: Jelassi, Danho.