Sundowns Crush Stade Malien In The CAF Quarters First Leg
Mamelodi Sundowns built a healthy advantage in the first leg of their CAF Champions League quarter-final after hammering Stade Malien 3–0 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Friday night.
The scoreline could have been even more emphatic for Sundowns. Malian goalkeeper N’Golo Traore produced fine saves to deny Aubrey Modiba and Tashreeq Matthews from close range in the first half. But Sundowns were profligate in front of the goals throughout the match.
Sundowns were also unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when Matthews was brought down inside the box in the second half, but the referee waved away.
Still, Sundowns delivered an impressive performance, strengthening their chances of progressing to the next round.
Sundowns’ three goals were scored by Khuliso Mudau, who opened the scoring in the first half, before Bryan Leon and Iqraam Rayners added two more goals in the second half.
Nuno Santos also delivered an outstanding performance, providing assists for both second-half goals.
Sundowns started the match strongly in the early stages and nearly found the opening goal in the 20th minute. Matthews went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but Traore produced an excellent save to deny him.
The Brazilians continued to dominate the game, creating several scoring opportunities.
Their breakthrough eventually came in the 34th minute when Mudau scored with a right-footed shot from the right side of the six-yard box after receiving a precise through pass from Arthur Sales.
However, Mudau’s goal was initially disallowed by the assistant referee, Amos Ndong. After a review, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervened and confirmed that the goal should stand.
Just before halftime, Sundowns nearly doubled their lead, but Traore made a brilliant double save, denying both Modiba and Matthews. The first half eventually ended with Sundowns leading 1–0.
In the second half, the Brazilians started the opening 25 minutes strongly, and their persistence paid off when Leon scored Sundowns’ second goal with a right-footed finish inside the six-yard box after receiving a superb long pass from Santos.
After that goal, Malien defender Babe Diarra fouled Matthews inside the box by striking him in the face with a hand, but referee Pierre Atcho waved play on and ruled that nothing had happened even after reviewing the incident with VAR.
In the 72nd minute, Santos took a powerful right-footed shot from outside the box after receiving a good pass from Sales, but his attempt was well saved by goalkeeper Traore.
Immediately after that opportunity, Santos delivered an excellent cross into the box to Rayners, who scored with a right-footed shot. The assistant referee Boris Ditsoga initially ruled the goal offside, but VAR intervened, and the goal was allowed to stand.
The Brazilians continued to dominate the match as they created several chances in the closing minutes, but they could not add more goals as the game eventually ended 3-0 in their favour.
Following this victory, Sundowns will travel to Mali next weekend for the second leg, and they will do so without much pressure away from home after making the task easier for themselves with a comfortable first-leg advantage.
