Sunday, May 17
•Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 FAR Rabat
Watch freekick here (Courtes of SABC)
Aubrey Modiba’s superb free-kick earned Mamelodi Sundowns a narrow 1-0 win over FAR Rabat in the first leg of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League final in Pretoria on Sunday.
Modiba scored in the 37th minute with a powerful strike from a direct free-kick that beat the FAR Rabat goalkeeper and gave Sundowns a crucial advantage ahead of the return leg in Morocco next weekend.
Sundowns controlled possession for most of the match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, while FAR Rabat remained organised defensively and looked dangerous on the counterattack.
The visitors nearly opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when veteran defender Younes Abdelhamid headed narrowly wide from a cross.
After taking the lead, Sundowns continued to create chances but failed to extend their advantage. Striker Brian Leon Muniz missed a clear one-on-one opportunity in the second half, while Teboho Mokoena struck the post with a late free-kick.
“We should’ve scored one more goal and create a little bit better advantage and have one foot in the front,” Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso said after the match.
“We need to take the energy into the second match of course so that we can fight for the trophy.
“We should not drop any kind of energy because we didn’t score, the moment of decisions are upfront and we need to look at the second match.”
Despite the defeat, FAR Rabat remain confident of overturning the result in the second leg at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
Sundowns are chasing a second CAF Champions League title after winning the competition in 2016, while FAR Rabat will hope home support can inspire a comeback in Morocco next Sunday.
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