* Sundowns went into the home leg trailing 1-2 but turned the tie around
* Thanks to goals from Peter Shalulile and Aubrey Modiba at a raucous Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria
Maravi Express
South Africa Premier League side, Mamelodi Sundowns were crowned the first-ever African Football League (AFL) champions today after a 2-0 second leg victory over Moroccan club Wydad Casablanca, sealing a 3-2 aggregate triumph.
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Sundowns went into the home leg trailing 1-2 but turned the tie around thanks to goals from Peter Shalulile and Aubrey Modiba at a raucous Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
A report by CAFonline says the hosts started slowly as Wydad disrupted their rhythm through intensive pressing and fouls but Sundowns’ persistence paid off when Shalulile pounced on the rebound after Youssef El Motie parried Teboho Mokoena’s shot in first-half stoppage time.
Five minutes after the break, Modiba intercepted a wayward pass before racing through to double Sundowns’ advantage and with Wydad now needing two goals to win the final, Sundowns cleverly slowed the game down — with multiple players took intentional yellow cards for time-wasting in the tense finale.
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Wydad almost set up a grandstand finish when Ayoub El Amloud headed narrowly over with nine minutes left but Sundowns held firm to complete an aggregate victory that makes them the first AFL winners after the new club competition was launched this season.
Coach Rulani Mokwena masterminded a tactical plan that overcame Wydad’s early pressure before ruthlessly capitalising on errors and the
triumph caps a historic continental triump for Sundowns who have now become the first champions of the new African Football League.
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Stats
* Mamelodi have now won one of their last 7 encounters against Wydad Casablanca (D4 L1), scoring 6 goals, and conceding twice in each of the last two games (D1 L1).
* Ahead of the 2nd leg, having won the first leg (2-1), Wydad Casablanca were looking to win consecutive matches against Mamelodi Sundowns for the first time since April 2019.
* Mamelodi Sundowns have never lost a home match against Wydad Casablanca, alternating between a win and a draw in their six such games against the Moroccan side (W4 D3).
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* The last two matches between Mamelodi Sundowns and Wydad Casablanca have seen an average of 3.5 goals per game (2-1 in the first leg and 2-2 in the CAF Champions League in May), after the first 11 games between the two sides saw an average of just 1.2 (13 goals in total).
* Mamelodi Sundowns are unbeaten in their last 24 home matches in all competitions (W21 D4), keeping clean sheets in six of their last seven such games.
* Wydad Casablanca have won seven of their last eight matches in all competitions (L1), while their sole defeat did come away from home – in the second leg of their semi-final against ES Tunis (1-0) in the African Football League (progressed to the final on penalties).—Info by CAFonline
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