CAF Champions League: Rulani’s MC Alger sink Al-Hilal to dislodge Sundowns

Rulani Mokwena significantly boosted the chances for his team MC Alger making the CAF Champions League quarter-final with a 2-1 win over Al-Hilal on Friday night.

The Algerian champions hosted the Sudanese giants in Algiers and had a dream start as they took a 2-0 first half lead before conceding later in the second half but still held on to win, which saw them dislodge Mamelodi Sundowns from second place in the group.

MC Alger went ahead after 15 minutes through Moslem Anatouf and Zinedine Ferhat would add the second on the stroke of halftime, as Mokwena’s team took a giant lead at the break.

In the second half, it was very much game management from the hosts until the 77^th minute when Ahmed M’Bracek pulled one back for Al-Hilal. It was, however, not enough to stop MC Alger from collecting all three points.

How does Group C look like now?

The victory is a massive boost for Mokwena’s team who headed into matchday four with one point and on the brink of group stage elimination but now have seven after five games.

It sees them move to second place in Group C, just one behind leaders Al-Hilal, and have now dislodged Sundowns, who have four points, while Congolese side St Eloi Lupopo are on four.

With Sundowns facing Lupopo in Lubumbashi on Sunday, they are in a must-win situation otherwise they could head into the final group match bottom of the table and facing elimination.

MC Alger can seal a place in the quarter-final if they beat Sundowns in Pretoria next week, adding another intrigue to the game which will see Mokwena return to his former stomping ground since his surprise departure from Chloorkop in July 2024.