The head coach of Esperance Sportive de Tunis has claimed that the goal his side scored against Mamelodi Sundowns was supposed to stand.
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The Tunisian giants were unable to overturn their first-leg 1-0 loss to Masandawana, as a 0-0 draw at the Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi saw them eliminated from the competition.
The Blood and Gold displayed more attacking intent at home than they did at Loftus Versfeld, enjoying more possession and taking more shots at goal, and it almost bore fruit for them.
In the 63rd minute, Achref Jabri got in behind the Sundowns defence and scored what seemed to be a crucial equaliser, but following a lengthy VAR check, the attacker was adjudged to be offside, and the four-time African champions had to try to unlock the South African side’s backline once again.
The Betway Premiership table-toppers, however, managed to hold on and maintain a clean sheet as they exacted revenge on Esperance for what transpired in last season’s Champions League semi-final, progressing in the tournament.
While VAR decided that Jabri’s goal was illegitimate, the North African giants’ head coach Maher Kanzari believes that the strike should have stood.
"I don't think there was any offside in Ashraf Al-Jabri's goal. We performed well in the first half and managed to take the lead at an important time, but the goal was disallowed at a crucial moment,” said Kanzari in his post-match press conference, as per Mosaique FM.
"In the last 15 minutes, the performance wasn't up to the required level. We tried to score more than once, and we had three or four chances that could have been enough to score."
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Sundowns have now progressed to the semi-finals of African football’s premier club competition for a third successive season, where they will meet another North African juggernaut in reigning champions Al Ahly.
