Mamelodi Sundowns thrash Malien to put one foot in Champions League semi-final

Mamelodi Sundowns left no doubt about their CAF Champions League credentials as they secured a massive advantage in the quarter-final following a 3-0 win over Malian side Stade Malien on Friday.

Goals from Khuliso Mudau, Brayan Leon and Iqraam Rayners saw Sundowns put one foot in the semi-final as they won the first leg match with a massive margin at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

Sundowns fired an early warning when Tashreeq Matthews beat a defender at the byline and got into the box but the Stade Malien goalkeeper went low to keep him out.

However, the breakthrough arrived in the 33^rd minute when Mudau broke free on the right and latched onto an Arthur Sales pass before scoring but he was immediately flagged offside. However, a VAR check confirmed that he was in the right position, giving Sundowns the goal.

Mamelodi Sundowns turn on the style

Sundowns’ tactic to push full-backs higher up the pitch while all their attacking players went central to create overloads paid off handsomely for Miguel Cardoso’s side.

On the stroke of halftime, Aubrey Modiba, Matthews and Santos came close to scoring but missed from close range as Sundowns went to halftime carrying a 1-0 lead.

After the break, Mudau missed a sitter in the box just a minute upon resumption but in the 55^th minute, the Brazilians were celebrating a second when Leon cleverly got ahead of the two central defenders to poke home after being picked up well by Nuno Santos.

Moments later, Matthews should have made it 3-0 when Santos picked him but he got tangled between the Malien goalkeeper and defender Babe Diarra. Replays suggested Diarra had brought him down but after a VAR check that saw the referee go to the monitor, no penalty was given.

Nuno Santos runs the show for the Brazilians

The surprising decision did not kill off Sundowns’ spirit and after Cardoso brought on Iqraam Rayners and Monnapule Saleng, he reaped immediate dividends.

Santos, impressive on the night, brought in another delightful ball into the box to pick out Rayners who scored first time. The striker was flagged offside but after a VAR check, the goal was given, taking his season’s tally to 14 in all competitions.

That took Santos’ assists tally to two on the night and four in the Champions League this season, while he has two goals in the competition.

Following the big win, Sundowns will be confident of sealing a place in the semi-final when they head to Bamako, Mali for the second leg on March 22 after not conceding an away goal.