In the CAF Champions League final first leg, Wili el Karti scored the equalizer in stoppage time to give South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
In the 94th minute, El Karti stunned a sold-out crowd of 50, 000 at Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria by nodding a long cross past goalkeeper Ronwen Williams at the far post.
After 54 minutes, Sundowns’ Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro put an end to a 1, 080-minute Champions League goal drought by scoring from close range on the second try.
Goalkeeper Ahmed el Shenawy parried his first shot, but the keeper made no mistake when he made a second mistake and slammed the ball into the top of the net.
On June 1, the teams square off in Cairo, with Sundowns and Pyramids competing for the first time to win the most prestigious African club competition.
Pyramids also defeated Sundowns in the group stage of the previous Champions League, and the team won the match in Cairo thanks to a Teboho Mokoena goal.
We dropped too far back, according to Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso, who was unhappy with the performance of the Sundowns in the final ten minutes.
“We can score in Cairo and win the return match there,” he said, “but conceding so late is obviously disappointing.”
We must combat this in the second leg because the Pyramids’ midfielders were very aggressive.
The coach, who lost the previous Champions League final to Tunisian Esperance, said, “I’m not making excuses, but the pitch was very slippery and did not suit our style.
Krunoslav Jurcic, the former Croatian international, pleaded with Egyptian football supporters to watch the return game on Sunday.
Only a small number of spectators cheered the Cairo outfit on in a 30, 000-seat stadium when they defeated another South African team, the Orlando Pirates, at home in the semi-finals.
“Stop by the stadium and support us,” We are promoting all of Egypt. Your support may be a big factor, Jurcic said.
“This final is not over yet, but we had energy today and knew about Sundowns.” In the final Champions League game, Sundowns defeated us in Cairo.
Sundowns have made 17 previous appearances, including a victory over Zamalek of Egypt in the 2016 title decider, while Pyramids are only playing in the Champions League for the second time.
Sundowns will shift their attention to Group F’s Club World Cup in the United States, where they face Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, and South Korean side Ulsan.
Source: Channels TV
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