Mamelodi Sundowns advanced to the final of the CAF Champions League on the away-goal rule after rescuing a late 1-1 draw against Al Ahly on Friday night.
CAF Champions League
Result: Al Ahly 1-1 Mamelodi Sundowns (1-1 on aggregate)
Date: 25 April 2025
Venue: Cairo International Stadium
Click through the gallery above to see action from Sundowns' clash with Al Ahly
Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso gave a start to striker Arthur Sales in place of Peter Shalulile, who dropped to the bench alongside Themba Zwane and Iqraam Rayners.
The home side dominated possession in the early stages of the first half, but it was the South Africans who carved out the first chance in the opening 10 minutes as Tashreeq Matthews dragged his effort wide of the upright from close range.
Al Ahly were rewarded for their dominance in the 23rd minute when Taher Mohamed raced onto a pass from Emam Ashour and sent a powerful strike beyond a helpless Ronwen Williams for only his second goal in the tournament.
The defending champions nearly bagged a second goal ten minutes later in similar fashion, as Mohamed Hany played in Ashour, who saw his first-time strike saved by Williams at the near post.
The Brazilians, meanwhile, only had the effort from Matthews show for their efforts in the first half, as Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy did not have single save to make throughout the opening 45 minutes.
Sundowns came out firing for the second half, with Lucas Costa Ribeiro causing a bit of problems in the final third but he was unable to find the target despite getting in a couple good positions.
There was a bit of controversy after the hour mark after Ribeiro went down under a challenge from Yasser Ibrahim in the box. The referee was asked to check the Video Assistant Review (VAR) monitor but decided against awarding a penalty.
While the VAR check was being made, Cardoso made his first change of the game by throwing club captain Zwane for Jayden Adams with 25 minutes left on the clock.
Zwane was presented with a big chance to pull Sundowns level on 71 after latching onto a delightful ball from Ribeiro, but the veteran midfielder took a bad first touch with only El Shennawy to beat in the 18-yard area.
With time running out, Sundowns got the all important equaliser in the 90th minute through a huge slice of fortune when defender Ibrahim deflected the ball into his own net after some good work by Zwane and Rayners.
The goal was enough to send the Brazilians to their first appearance in the final since they won the competition in 2016.
Here's how they lined up:
Al Ahly: El Shenawy, Rabia, Yasser, Marawan Attia, Dari, Ashour, Reda, El Aash, Taher, Hany , Gradišar
Mamelodi Sundowns: Williams, Mudau, Kekana, Lebusa, Modiba, Mokoena, Allende, Adams, Matthews, Sales, Ribeiro
Subs: Onyango, Suarez, Lunga, Morena, Mkhulise, Aubaas, Shalulile, Zwane, Rayners.
