Mamelodi Sundowns made light work of thrashing a hapless Al Merrikh of Sudan 3-0 in the final Group A Caf Champions League tie played at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It didn’t matter that their place in the quarterfinals was secure; Sundowns made sure they put their visitors to the sword after turning on a business-like performance. True to co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi’s words, the South African champions went into the match “with the mentality to win”.
The Sundowns technical team handed former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder George Maluleka a rare start, and 12 minutes into the game, he opened the scoresheet through a header.
Maluleka, who was making his first start of the season, combined well with captain Andile Jali in the middle of the park as they lorded it over the North Africans.
Bradley Ralani doubled the lead in the 66th minute with a composed finish after Haashim Domingo dispossessed an Al Merrikh defender to set him up.
68th-minute substitute Kermit Erasmus then decided to put the cherry on top with what some tweeps described as the ‘goal of the season’. Erasmus received a high ball from Ralani with his back to goal. His first touch cooled the ball off before turning immaculately to rifle a fantastic volley into the roof of the net. Erasmus had been on the pitch for four minutes when he scored.
The result meant Sandawana finished Group A unbeaten after bettering last term’s 13 points from the group stages.
