This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Hibapress-Rabat-Caf
The Mamelodi Sundowns thought they had done the hardest. But a whim of Walid El Karti in the last moments came to spoil the party on Saturday evening at the Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria (1-1). The Egyptians of the Pyramids FC snatch a precious draw in the first leg of the Totalnergies Champions League, before the return to Cairo in two weeks.
In front of their audience, the South Africans have long believed a logical victory. Better in their match, technically cleaner, the men of Rulani Mokwena ended up giving way of the opposing defense to the 54th minute. Lucas Ribeiro Costa, on the lookout after a ball badly negotiated by the Egyptian central hinge, lit a left strike which left Ahmed El Shenawy no chance. Pretoria exults.
But as often at this level, a relaxation, an alignment error, and everything can tip over. The Sundowns, however solid defensively, ended up giving in on the last opposing offensive. In additional time, Mohanad Lasheen addresses a perfect center at the second post. El Karti, alone in the heart of the six meters, places a clinical head in the small net. Cathedral silence in the stands. 1-1. Everything has to be redone.
A cruel scenario for the South African champions, which had dominated the second act and obtained several situations to do the station wagon, notably by Neo Maema or Shalulile Peter, little success this evening.
Opposite, the pyramids, solid defensively but not very enterprising, knew how to make a round back before hitting at the right time. This draw, in a final to go outside, is suddenly. And it extends the invincibility of cairotes in the direct elimination phase. For a first appearance in the C1 final, the club founded in 2008 even pays the luxury of dreaming of a historic coronation.
On June 1, at the International Cairo stadium, the two teams will meet for a second decisive act. A return final where the winner will raise the brand new trophy brought into play by CAF. In the meantime, the two camps will have to manage the pressure of a historic meeting.
Broadcast in more than 28 countries, the meeting was also a beautiful showcase in African club football, now well installed on the international scene. Proof, if necessary, that the CAF Champions League has crossed a new course.
