Allende Praises Leon’s Fast Start At Sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Marcelo Allende has praised new signing Brayan Leon for adapting quickly to life at Chloorkop, saying he is delighted with the striker’s early impact.

Leon joined Sundowns in January and has already made his mark, scoring four goals for the club. Two of those strikes have come in the Betway Premiership, while his latest brace was against MC Alger in the CAF Champions League on Saturday.

The Colombian forward delivered in a crucial Group C encounter, helping Sundowns secure a 2-0 victory and book their place in the quarterfinals.

The Brazilians finished second in the group with nine points, behind Al Hilal Omdurman, who topped the standings with 11 points.

“I’m so happy for him,” said Allende.

“The adaptation is going very well, he scored a lot of goals in these six, five games. I’m so happy for him. We know his quality, and he needs to keep going and try to stay healthy, and he can help us a lot.”

Allende, who shares a South American background with Leon, also expressed satisfaction with Sundowns’ qualification for the knockout stages.

“It was an important win at home against a very good opponent,” said Allende.

“I think we deserved the qualification and I’m so happy for my team, for all the players. We are in the next stage, we wait for the next opponent, and I’m so happy to win at home with our people. I think we need to win more games like this for the people, for our families, for the club, and for the club.”

Meanwhile, coach Miguel Cardoso will now turn his attention to a highly anticipated league showdown against Orlando Pirates, who currently lead the Betway Premiership standings with 38 points.

Sundowns sit second on the table with 32 points after 15 matches, trailing Pirates by six points as the title race intensifies.