Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has explained that he recently watched Real Madrid to figure out why they are so good in the Uefa Champions League, as the Premiership prepare for their second leg CAF Champions League assignment against CR Belouizdad.
Sundowns take a 4-1 lead into the second leg clash at Loftus Stadium this weekend, but are fully aware that things can take a drastic turn in football if they take the opposition lightly. Mokwena revealed to the media that he watched Madrid's Champions League last 16 clashes against Liverpool, to get a sense of how the 13-time winners conduct themselves, even when they have a big lead from the first leg.
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Sundowns are in a similar situation and want to make sure that they do not endure the embarrassment of squandering such a healthy lead.
"We had to break the cycle by given them (the players) a day off, which they thoroughly deserved. They worked very hard for it and I was telling them that normally on my days off I spend more time on the team and try to do a lot of work to check. Yesterday (Wednesday), I spent time on Real Madrid to find out what really makes Real Madrid so good, especially in the Champions League.
"There are two games that I watched. There's a game against Liverpool, when they went to Anfield. They won 5-2. I watched the game to see what schemes, organisational forms they had. You check when they host Liverpool at the Santiago Bernabeu, they play as if their lives depend on it. That was the biggest lesson and it's something that we have delivered to the players. We've addressed from a psychological perspective what we need to have and for sure it will be a difficult game.
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"You don't even have to go very far to understand because two years ago, we played the very same football in the group stages and we beat them, but they came to Pretoria and beat us. There's only two teams who have done that in the Champions League and they are one of the two. So, we have to know that they can beat us and we have to be at our best."
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