Egyptian giant Ahly suffered a 2-0 defeat to South American champions Palmeiras in the semi-final of the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday night.
Midfielder Raphael Veiga put Palmeiras ahead six minutes before the break after being set up by lively winger Dudu as Ahly's resistance was broken following a rare defensive lapse.
Veiga returned the favor to Dudu early in the second half to double Palmeiras' advantage and leave Ahly with a mountain to climb.
The Red Devils threw caution to the wind and poured forward en masse but could only create their first clear-cut chance in stoppage time when substitute Walid Soliman headed against the bar.
They also finished with ten men after defender Ayman Ashraf, back from international duty with Egypt at the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon, was sent off for a reckless challenge on striker Rony in the 80th minute.
Ashraf endured a night to forget, having been at fault for Palmeiras' two goals as the Brazilian giants avenged their shootout loss to Ahly in last year's third-place playoff.
Ahly thought they had narrowed the gap when substitute Mohamed Sherif slotted in on the rebound on 72 minutes but the referee disallowed the goal after a VAR review showed the striker to be in an offside position.
The Cairo giants had some half-chances but their hopes to salvage a draw were further dented when Ashraf was sent off for a high-foot tackle on Rony.
Ahly will play either European champions Chelsea or Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
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