Mamelodi Sundowns have taken a slender advantage from the first leg of the CAF Champions League final following a 1-0 home win over Morocco’s AS FAR in Pretoria on Sunday.
They head to Rabat for the second leg next Sunday with something to protect and, perhaps crucially, having not conceded an away goal to AS FAR.
It means if they score once in Morocco, their hosts will need three goals and, on the balance of play in the first leg, that seems unlikely.
Sundowns goal
After creating little in the opening 37 minutes, Sundowns took the lead when Bafana Bafana left-back Aubrey Modiba fired in a superb free-kick from 25 yards. He opted for power over placement and it proved too much for AS FAR goalkeeper Ahmed Tagnaouti. The ball thundered into the back of the net, with the keeper only managing to get a hand to it.
It was Modiba’s first goal in almost three years, during which time he received two red cards and scored an own goal. One of those dismissals came in the group-stage clash against AS FAR last season, so this will have been a particularly sweet moment for him.
Second-half delay
The second half was delayed by around 30 minutes after the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) malfunctioned.
AS FAR initially refused to continue until it was fixed, but as the delay dragged on, they opted to resume play.
CAF rules state that VAR does not have to be operational for a match to continue, so had AS FAR refused to play, they could have risked the game being awarded 3-0 to Sundowns. Still, it was not a good look for the organisers.
Woodwork
Sundowns came inches away from a second goal that would have represented a giant step towards the trophy.
After Jayden Adams was brought down 30 yards from goal, Teboho Mokoena struck a typically fierce free-kick.
The goalkeeper was beaten, but the ball crashed back off the post — an unlucky moment for the home side that they will hope not to rue in the tie.
Rare event
The last team to come back and win the trophy after losing the first leg was Espérance de Tunis against Al Ahly in 2018.
Ahly won the first leg 3-1 in Alexandria, but the Tunisian side rallied to claim a 3-0 victory in the second leg and take the tie 4-3 on aggregate.
Before that, TP Mazembe won on away goals after losing the first leg to Heartland FC in 2009.
Third time lucky?
Will it be third time lucky for Miguel Cardoso? He lost the 2024 final with Espérance de Tunis and the 2025 decider with Mamelodi Sundowns.
On both occasions, the home first leg for Cardoso ended in a draw and he could not engineer victory away from home.
This time he has something to hold onto, which is a new experience for the Portuguese coach.