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Confident Mokwena says Sundowns will be in the semis

Second leg against Petro de Lunda to be played in Johannesburg

Athenkosi Tsotsi Sports Reporter
Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena.
Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena.
Image: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images

Mamelodi Sundowns co-head coach Rulani Mokwena is optimistic his side will be able to turn around their 2-1 quarterfinal deficit in the second leg of the CAF Champions League against Petro de Lunda on Saturday at FNB Stadium. 

The Brazilians travelled to Angola this past weekend where they lost 2-1 to Petro de Lunda. They began the match by getting the opening goal o through Lyle Lakay. Their lead did not last long as Petro captain Tiago Azulao equalised and then he assisted Yano Duarte for the second goal for the home side to give his team a 2-1 lead at halftime. 

Downs probed for the equaliser and created a lot of chances with every wave of attack. They thought they had the equaliser when Neo Maema scored a wonderful goal but it was cancelled by VAR (video assistant referee) as they picked up a foul leading to the phase that led to the goal. 

The match ended 2-1, with Sundowns having their backs against the wall. With the second leg set to be played in Johannesburg on April 23, Mokwena believes they will win the match and go through to the last four. 

“We’ll be in the semifinals, the objective doesn’t change, we go back home and win the match,” said Mokwena in his post-match interview. 

“We had done the most difficult part: scoring an away goal. We were unfortunate with VAR. We are okay to go to Johannesburg with a 2-1 scoreline, we take the away goal and we can score. Petro also knows that there’s a goal in Johannesburg,” he said. 

To keep the optimism in the camp high, Mokwena is relying on advice that was shared to him by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp when he visited their then training ground in Melwood. The German’s words had the young Sundowns coach realising they are not out of the CAF Champions League. 

“I’m reminded of something Jurgen Klopp once said to me when I visited Melwood, and I never thought I’d use it because I’m a coach that wants to win every single match. But because in football you either win, draw or lose, you have those possibilities every time a match starts,” he said. 

“But Jurgen Klopp said to me, ‘coach, if you want to succeed in football, lose the right matches’, and I think we lost the right match because it doesn’t get us out of the competition and we still have a chance to correct the tie,” Mokwena said. 

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