domestic league action. In their first league appearance of the campaign, Mouloudia d’Alger accomplished the essentials against MB Rouissat.
Mouloudia d’Alger officially kicked off their 2026-2027 league campaign on Friday evening. Deprived of their opening two Ligue 1 fixtures owing to their commitments in the African Champions League, Khaled Ben Yahia’s squad made their debut by hosting MB Rouissat at Ali Ammar Stadium. In this opening domestic test, the Green and Red immediately signaled their ambitions. The defending champions remained unfazed and secured a two-nil victory, picking up their initial points of the term.
The contest turned rapidly in favor of the Algiers outfit. As early as the 6th minute, Chahreddine Boukholda found the net to place his side in command. A vital lead for MCA, who subsequently managed the responses of an ambitious MB Rouissat side eager to draw level. Despite the promoted club’s intentions, Mouloudia preserved their advantage through structured organizational discipline. The scoreline remained unchanged through the interval, sending both rosters to the dressing rooms with the hosts holding a narrow edge.
Upon restarting, MCA quickly doubled their advantage. Entering as a substitute, Ben Ahmed Kouhili made an immediate impact in the 60th minute by scoring his team’s second goal. This strike put the result beyond doubt, enabling the Algerian champions to navigate the closing stages with composure. This success allows Mouloudia to commence their title defense under ideal circumstances. Having validated their advance past the initial preliminary round of the Champions League against their Nigerien counterparts, the Algiers club maintains its positive momentum. MCA must now make up their two postponed fixtures against MC Oran and JS Kabylie, while gearing up for their upcoming continental encounter against Nigeria’s Enugu Rangers.
In the Western derby, MC Oran prevailed on the road against ASO Chlef (1-0) on Friday evening behind closed doors at Mohamed-Boumezrag Stadium. The Chlef side played at a numerical disadvantage for the vast majority of the fixture following the dismissal of Belalem in the 7th minute. Despite the extra player, MCO were forced to wait until the 75th minute to breakthrough, courtesy of Ismaïl Saâdi, a recruit from JS Saoura, who netted the solitary goal of the match to deliver three precious points to the Oran side. Thanks to this victory, MCO elevated their tally to six points, temporarily settling into second position in the standings, just one point behind CR Belouizdad, the current provisional leaders with seven points.
JS El-Biar recorded their first Ligue 1 victory of the campaign by dominating JS Saoura at home on Friday (4-0) for Matchday 3, securing a historic maiden success among the elite tier.
Everything was decided during the second period. The hosts broke the deadlock through Merzougui (48’), author of the opening goal, before Mouaki doubled the cushion (78’). In the final minutes, Kante (88’) and Cissoko (90’+4) completed the rout. On their end, JS Saoura suffered a second consecutive defeat across all competitions, following their elimination in the opening preliminary round of the Champions League. The Béchar side concluded the contest with ten men following the ejection of Ivorian defender Ashiraf (53’).
In Friday’s other fixture, Dziri Billel’s USM Khenchela was held to a home draw against ES Ben Aknoun (1-1). The hosts opened the scoring through Benzid (62’) prior to conceding an equalizer netted by Benchaïra (85’). This result allows the Star to provisionally capture second place with 5 points, two behind leaders CR Belouizdad, who claimed a road victory on Thursday against US Biskra (1-0).
Following their home win against MBR, JSK failed to build momentum. The Yellow and Green stumbled on Thursday evening in Témouchent against CRT, newly promoted to Ligue 1, at the conclusion of a fixture where they never truly imposed their playing style. Unrecognizable compared to their season opener, Karim Belhocine’s formation yielded to a CRT squad showing superior determination and aggressiveness in individual duels. From the opening minutes, the hosts seized control of play, forcing the Kabyle side to defend and rely primarily on counter-attacks. JSK encountered severe difficulties in developing their football, requiring Guendouz to make crucial interventions to preserve his net. The Kabyle side could nevertheless have taken the lead on one of their rare clear opportunities.