Mamelodi Sundowns Miguel Cardoso has opened up on an aspect he says was “not easy” after hammering Remo Stars FC in the CAF Champions League second preliminary round.
The Brazilians first beat the Nigerian outfit 5-1 in the away leg. That made work easy for them ahead of Sunday’s second leg at Loftus Versfeld, winning 2-0 to seal a 7-1 aggregate scoreline.
Cardoso and his men are now in the Champions League group stage as they seek to lift the trophy they won in 2016. They are in this season’s campaign carrying the tag of losing finalists last term.
The big win over Remo Stars could be interpreted as a statement of intent by Sundowns, who, over the years, have been prioritising the Champions League.
SUNDOWNS’ BEAUTIFUL PROBLEM IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
The Portuguese coach admits it was hard to motivate his players, still buzzing from the win in Nigeria, ahead of hosting Remo Stars.
That saw Masandawana going into that match to play for prestige and improve their CAF rankings.
“The most important part of the game was the first half, considering the strong attitude we brought into the pitch. The quality of football we played throughout the first half, dynamics, control and dominance,” Cardoso said
“It’s not easy to motivate a team to play this way after the win away 5-1 and you basically sealed qualification. That one I didn’t want to speak about it but it’s clear when you win 5-1 there is a big difference on this level for another team to be able to come back.
“The attitude was very professional throughout the week. We knew we wanted to score goals, win again and score points for the CAF rankings. To highlight the football played by Mamelodi Sundowns and the quality of players, highlight what we are doing on terms of growing.
“We also wanted to highlight South African football, of course.”
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