Mamelodi Sundowns turned on a dominant performance to beat visiting Al Ahly 5-2 at the Loftus Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The win saw Sundowns retain to the summit of Group B of the Caf Champions League. Sundowns have amassed 10 points off three wins and the 2-2 away draw in Cairo.
Sundowns got their first goal through Marcelo Allende. Cassius Mailula won the ball back just outside the centre circle.
He quickly released it to Themba Zwane, who set up Allende. The Chilean made no mistake as he drilled a hard and low ball into the bottom right corner.
Nine minutes later Al Ahly pulled one back through Mohamed Sherif after Aubrey Modiba lost the ball just outside the 18-yard box.
However, Themba Zwane restored Sundowns’ lead in the 23rd minute after a flick-on header by Mothobi Mvala.
Sundowns enjoyed a better share of possession in the first half, averaging 63 per cent. Teboho Mokoena then blessed Masandawana with a ‘Tebza trademark’ in the 40th minute when he unleashed a thunderbolt strike from outside the 18-yard box to make it 3-1.
In the second half, Ahly applied pressure in the early stages of the second half. But the South African champions regained their dominance.
Exactly on the hour mark, Percy Tau left Aubrey Modiba for dead before beating Ronwen Williams. Tau continued to give the Sundowns defence problems with his pace.
But Peter Shalulile put the game beyond the visitors’ reach when he made it four in the 70th minute. He was back again in the 87th minute, with a cool finish under challenge, to make it 5-2 and seal maximum points for Sundowns.
Sundowns will now visit Al Hilal in Sudan next Saturday before hosting Cameroon’s Coton Sport in the final match of the Group Stages.
The win against Ahly all but clears the path for the South African champions to enter the knockout stages of the continental club competition.
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