Mamelodi Sundowns notched a comfortable 3-0 victory over FC Nouadhibou to start the CAF Champions League group stages on the right foot.
Peter Shalulile, Lucas Ribeiro Costa and Gastino Sirino got on the score-sheet to help Bafana Ba Style keep the maximum points at home.
Among several changes that were made by Sundowns in their line-up, Thapelo Morena played his first match after returning from injury. He was last in action in September in a league game against Stellenbosch FC.
The match started with the Mauritanian side pressing Masandawana hard, not allowing them to play their normal game as they looked for an early goal. In spite of that, the Tshwane giants could still find the spaces to make forward movements.
Neo Maema had an opportunity to open the scoring within the first 10 minutes after receiving a cut-back from Terrence Mashego. However, his close-range attempt was denied by Babacar Diop.
TWO GOALS FROM RIBEIRO AND SHALULILE IN THE FIRST HALF
In the 23rd minute, Lucas Ribeiro Costa put the home side ahead after he was set up by Morena from the edge of the box.
A few minutes later, Peter Shalulile grabbed the second for the hosts with a stunning header after he was located by Marcelo Allende from a corner-kick spot.
The Brazilians continued to dominate the match while Mauritanian Ligue 1 champions didn’t want to back down trying to fight back. The match went to the break with a 2-0 scoreline in Sundowns’ favour.
The DStv Premiership champions came back in the second half and picked up where they left off, exerting pressure on the visitors.
In the 54th minute, Ribeiro released Shalulile with a through pass and the Namibian had an opportunity to shoot but he set Morena up in the box. However, the Randfontein-born star ballooned the ball over the bar.
In the 69th minute, Nouadhibou’s goalkeeper Diop received a straight red card after a tackle on Gaston Sirino who had a one-on-one with him. Thereafter, the Uruguayan man stepped up and rattled the back of the net from the free-kick spot.
Rulani Mokwena’s men kept on prolonging the agony for the away side, rotating the ball around with the substitutes fresh from the bench coming on with energy. Sundowns went on to secure their first three points in this campaign’s Champions League.
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