Sundowns send strong message to rest of Africa with Al Ahly thrashing

This was an unequivocal message that should leave the rest of the continent quaking in their boots. 

Mamelodi  Sundowns did not just secure their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the fifth consecutive season but outplayed, outthought, outfoxed and outsmarted the once mighty Al Ahly. 

To put this result in perspective, this was the second time Sundowns scored five goals against Al Ahly after the 5-0 drubbing at Lucas Moripe Stadium in 2019 in the quarterfinal stage. 

When they made their way back to the dressing room at halftime buoyed by a vociferous and near capacity Pretoria crowd, the Brazilians had Al Ahly by the short and curlies. 

In the end, Sundowns prevailed 5-2 to move to the top of Group B with ten points but Al Ahly’s hopes of progressing to the next round lay in tatters as they remain on four points from as many matches. 

For Al Ahly to progress, they have to win their remaining two group matches against Cotonsport of Cameroon and Al-Hilal Omdurman of Sudan and failure to do so will come with serious repercussions. 

Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena made seven changes to the team that drew with Stellenbosch in their last league match last weekend. 

Between the poles, Ronwen Williams replaced Reyaad Pieterse and in defence Mothobi Mvala and Aubrey Modiba came in for Mosa Lebusa and Terrence Mashego. 

In the midfield, Teboho Mokoena and midfield kingpin Themba Zwane replaced Ntandoyenkosi Nkosi and Rivaldo Coetzee while Cassius Mailula and Marcelo Allende came in for Haashim Domingo and Thepelo Morena. 

This was the second meeting between these two sides in less than two weeks and Mokwena only made one change from their last meeting in Cairo with Neo Maema coming in for Sphelele Mkhulise. 

In the end the victory was emphatic but Mokwena, who is known for demanding the best out of his players, will be a little bit unhappy that they only scored one goal after the break. 

During the second half, Sundowns could have added more goals but they dropped in tempo allowing Al Ahly to rejuvenate and try to drag themselves into the game. 

This win will be remembered for team effort, but the influence of Zwane cannot be underestimated as he was in the forefront of most of the good things they did on the day. 

Sundowns got off to a flying start when Allende struck from outside the penalty box to beat Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy who was unsighted by a number of his defenders. 

The Egyptian defenders were still trying to settle in the game but they were hit by Allende’s sucker punch after he received a clever short pass from Zwane on the edge of the box. 

Al Ahly roared back into the game ten minutes later when Mohamed Sherif put the ball past the outstretched hands of a stranded Williams after. 

The equaliser was a result of Percy Tau putting pressure on unaware Aubrey Modiba on the edge of the penalty box with the ball falling in the path of Hamdi Fathi who laid the ball for Sherif to do the rest. 

It was turning out to be a goal fest as Sundowns retook their lead through inspirational midfielder and captain Zwane who beat El Shenawy after he received a pass from Mothobi Mvala. 

Sundowns increased their lead with a thunderous 30m shot from Teboho Mokoena that gave El Shenawy no chance as they tightened their grip on this match before Parcy Tau pulled the visitors back into the game. 

This match was put beyond doubt in the closing stages when Namibian hitman Peter Shalulile scored two quick goals as the Brazilians arrived in the knockout stages in emphatic style.