Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso walked away with a hard-fought 1-0 win against his former employers, Espérance, in the first leg of their CAF Champions League semi-final clash on Sunday night.
The showdown between Bafana Ba Style and ES Tunis took place at Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi, with Masandawana satisfied with a win away from home as the two sides head to South Africa for the return leg.
Masandawana came into this clash with a record that doesn’t look good against the Tunisian giants at their own turf. Sundowns had not secured a win away from home against ES Tunis since 2024, but that ended tonight.
From the first whistle, the home side looked to be the better team. Buoyed by a capacity crowd, the hosts dictated the tempo of the game.
Cardoso’s charges were forced into a disciplined defensive shape as ES Tunis relentlessly searched for a breakthrough.
Despite several threats in the Sundowns’ final third, the visitors’ backline remained resolute.
ES TUNIS AND MAMELODI SUNDOWNS GOALLESS AT HALF-TIME
Ronwen Williams was called into action on a few occasions, but the Bafana Bafana captain managed to stop ES Tunis’ efforts, ensuring the sides went into the tunnel level at the break.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with the hosts desperate to take the lead and break the deadlock.
However, as the clock ticked down, Cardoso’s tactical familiarity with his former side seemed to pay dividends. Sundowns grew in confidence, nullifying the hosts’ attacks and frustrating the home support.
As a result, the Chloorkop-based outfit found the back of the net through Colombian striker Bryan Lèon in the 52nd minute of the showpiece. A few moments later, the home side thought they had found the equaliser in the 65th minute, but their celebrations were short-lived as a VAR intervention ultimately ruled the goal out after a foul on Williams.
The contest took a late turn for the visitors when Grant Kekana was shown a straight red card just five minutes before the final whistle, following a reckless challenge that left the Brazilians to navigate the closing stages with ten men.
However, Lèon’s goal was enough to give Sundowns the advantage going into the second leg tie at home.
The second leg between the two teams will be played next week at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday, 18 April 2026. The kick-off is set for 15:00.
The winner of the second leg will book a place in the tournament’s finals, where they will face either AS FAR or RS Berkane.
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