Mamelodi Sundowns will qualify for the CAF Champions League quarter-finals as group winners after thrashing Al-Hilal 4-2 on Saturday afternoon.
Result: Al Hilal 2-4 Mamelodi Sundowns
Date: 19 March 2022
Venue: Al Hilal Stadium
Sundowns made four changes with Reyaad Pieterse, Thapelo Morena, Teboho Mokoena and Lesedi Kapinga coming into the side, with the latter getting a rare start.
It was a frenetic start to the match as Sundowns opened the scoring with just two minutes gone when Peter Shalulile finished sublimely into the near post corner with Themba Zwane providing the assist.
In the seventh minute Al-Hilal striker Ibrahim Mustapha was denied by a brilliant save from Reyaad Pieterse after he was played in by Faris Abdallah.
The Brazilians were reduced to ten men with just 11 minutes gone on the clock when Brian Onyango received his marching orders for cynically bringing down the last man on goal.
With the extra man, Al-Hilal decided to bring on another striker on the half-hour mark as Yasir Mozamil replaced Walieldin Khidir.
However, despite their numerical disadvantage, Masandawana doubled their lead soon after. Haashim Domingo was fouled from nearly 30 yards out and up stepped Teboho Mokoena, whose curling and dipping effort over the wall found the back of the net.
Pieterse made another good save from Mohamed Abdelrahman just before the referee brought an entertaining first half to an end.
The Sudanese outfit were capitalising on their numerical advantage by applying plenty of pressure on the Brazilians and pulled one back in the 56th minute through substitute Mozamil, when he finished clinically into the bottom left corner from Abdelrahman's cross.
However, the visitors produced the perfect to restore the two-goal buffer. They broke quickly on the counter-attack and Kapinga released Morena with the perfect through ball and the Downs' right-back finished with aplomb into the bottom left corner from outside the box.
Soon after, the hosts came close to reducing the deficit once again. Rushine de Reuck brought down Abdelrahman, who dusted himself off and curled the resulting free-kick just wide of the right-hand post.
The game was well and truly put to bed in the 88th minute as Morena grabbed his brace as he slotted with composure into the bottom right corner.
The home side would pull a consolation goal back in stoppage time. Pieterse brought down Abdelrahman in the area and Abdelrahman's effort was saved by Pieterse but it came back to Osman Mokhtar, who put the rebound into the back of the net.
Sundowns: Pieterse, Lakay, B.Onyango, De Reuck, Morena, Jali, Mokoena, Domingo, Kapinga, Zwane, Shalulile.
Subs: Mweene, Kutumela, Kekana, Modiba, Maema, Ralani, Erasmus, Maboe, Vilakazi
