A brace from in-form attacking midfielder Abdallah El-Saied either side of half time and a late goal from substitute Moemen Zakareya earned the Egyptian giants the three points against their rivals.
While the Tunisians dominated the opening 15 minutes of the encounter, with Nigerian striker Emem Eduok causing many problems to the Red Devils’ defence, Ahly took the lead in the 20th minute through El-Saied following a poor clearance from Espérance centre-back Arbi Jabeur.
Walid Soliman came close to sending the locals into the break with a wider advantage, missing the target from the edge of the box, but El-Saied completed his brace just before the hour-mark after some good work from Hossam Ghaly.
And despite defensive midfielder Hossam Ashour being sent off with twenty minutes remaining for an off-the-ball challenge, Ahly kept going forward with Soliman and substitute Zakareya missing some clear opportunities.
However, the latter ultimately found the target on the stroke of full time to add to the visitors’ misery, just after Eduok nearly pulled a goal back for Espérance.
Ahly are now top of Group A, ahead of Etoile Sportive du Sahel who managed a narrow 1-0 win over Stade Malien in Sousse on Friday evening.