Al Ahly and Percy Tau have third place to play for after Real defeat

Percy Tau played his third straight match of the Fifa Club World Cup, coming on for just over half-an-hour of Al Ahly's 4-1 semifinal defeat to Rela Madrid that left the Egyptian giants with third place to play for again.

The scoreline was heavy in favour of the European champions but was only 2-1 going into added time, as goals by Rodrygo (92nd minute) and Sergia Arribas (98th) flattered the Spanish giants at Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah in Rabat, Morocco.

It was a far braver performance from Ahly than the scoreline suggested and a display from Real that left manager Carlo Ancelotti frustrated at his team's application.

A third appearance of the competition — after coming off the bench to score in the 3-0 first round win against Auckland City, and a strong showing playing 93 minutes in the 1-0 second round victory against Seattle Sounders — will encourage Tau he is winning favour with Swiss coach Marcel Koller.

Injury-plagued Tau has battled with game time — he has six Premier league appearances for table-topping Ahly in 2022-23 — since his move from Brighton under previous coach Pitso Mosimane in August 2021.

Tau has another chance to impress when Ahly meet Brazil's Flamengo in the third-place playoff at Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah on Saturday (5.30pm SA time).

A quick double strike either side of the break by Vinícius Júnior (42nd) and Federico Valverde (46th) left Ahly reeling. The Cairo club fought back with a penalty from Ali Maâloul in the 65th.

Bafana Bafana attacking star Tau replaced Mohamed Sherif in the 61st minute, moments before Ahly earned their penalty.

Ancelotti said his team played with fire — and not in the positive sense — not finishing off the game sooner.

“When we were leading 2-0, we said the game was over and started to dribble a little too much,” Ancelotti said.

“This is a tournament that Real Madrid have a lot to lose and a nothing to win.

“We said the game was won at 2-0 and things are not like that, we relaxed and it cannot be like that.”

Ancelotti said forward Karim Benzema and defender Eder Militao, who stayed behind in Madrid for treatment of their injuries, will join the team on Thursday and could be available against shock finalists Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in Rabat on Saturday (9pm).

If Ahly beat Flamengo they will end third for a third-straight time at the Club World Cup. The previous two occasions both came under Mosimane, who matched the club's highest finish achieved once before that in 2006.

The 2002 Club World Cup is being played in early 2023 because of a clash with its normal time slot in December with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

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