The recent Nedbank Cup exit is, obviously, a distant past for Mamelodi Sundowns as the South African greats have made a decisive step towards the CAF Champions League semi-final on Saturday night. The Brazilians thumped Algerian champion Belouizdad 4-1 on their soil thanks to a masterful statement performance that saw Peter Shalulile scoring a brace and assisting once for a display that deserves a standing ovation.An emphatic performance in Algeria sees Bafana Ba Style get back to winning ways! Time to switch our focus to the next one! 👆 CR Belouizdad (45+3′ Rebiai) 1⃣➖4⃣ Mamelodi Sundowns (6′, 51′ Shalulile, 20′ Maema, 90+2′ Mailula)#Sundowns #DownsLive #TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/wlV8KkpKMO— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) April 22, 2023 The Harambee Stars defender and Sundown’s regular Brian Mandela Onyango missed this match due to a back injury but should be back in the squad for a return leg that seems to be a dead rubber in prospect.It started perfectly for the Brazilians in Algeria, as they came in front only six minutes into the match. Modiba’s cross from the left found Shalulile on the edge of the six-yard box, and after a dreadfully long VAR review, it was 1-0 for the visitors on the scoreline. Impeccable Shalulile didn’t stop there but kept pushing for more, and his effort was rewarded with the assist for Mamelodi’s second goal of the game around the 20-minute mark. 100 – Peter Shalulile’s second goal v CR Belouizdad took him to 100 top-flight goals for PSL clubs (27 at Highlands Park plus 73 at Sundowns, all comps), becoming the 7th player to reach 100 goals in PSL history. Milestone. #CAFCL pic.twitter.com/369v7lD5nf— OptaJabu (@OptaJabu) April 22, 2023 It was another masterful teamwork, a three-piece action, with Maema hitting it superbly to double the lead at such an early stage. At that point, it seemed like we were heading towards the Sundowns’ landslide win, with South Africans controlling the game in every possible aspect.However, the home crowd revived their heroes in the dying minutes of the first half, resulting in a moment of magic from Rebiai deep in the stoppage time. He jumped sky-high to put his header past Mamelodi’s keeper for a tolerable one-goal deficit back again.Peter Shalulile scores his 100th Club career goal 🔥🔥🔥Over 70 of them have come for Mamelodi Sundowns A striker who’s obsessed with scoring Take a bow 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽#TotalEnergiesCAFCL #Sundowns #PTFWShakes #PTFWSBetwaypic.twitter.com/es8LqXh55l— Shakes Rampedi (@ShakesRampedi) April 22, 2023 Unfortunately for Belouizdad, the second period unfolded even worse for them, as flawless guests danced on the pitch with their quick, intelligent passing, taking all the action to the opposite box. Following one mistake of Belouizdad’s centre-back line, amazing Shalulile knocked another one with his left for 3-1.##NAJAVA_MECA_7198489##And while the home supporters were creating a praiseworthy atmosphere in the stands, the match itself propelled into a one-sided game. It should have been 5-1 by the 60th minute, but Zwane missed a sitter, and Mbule’s shot hit the woodwork.Finally, super-sub Mailula settled the score by netting in the dying seconds for a brutal victory.##EDITORS_CHOICE##- Al Ahly take a two-goal advantage to Casablanca’s cauldron – It will be nasty in the rematch, that’s for sure! Raja Casablanca have lost 2-0 in the first leg against Egyptian giants Al Ahly Cairo, and the Morrocan side are probably hoping their notorious fans could push them back on track after this disappointing loss.Despite Al Ahly’s dominance in ball possession and more shots on target, it could have ended in a goalless draw if it wasn’t for mistakes of Raja’s defense, after which they conceded both goals, one in each half.CAF Champions League – Fulltime Al Ahly 🇪🇬 2-0 🇲🇦 Raja Casablanca ⚽ Mohamed Abdelmonem 45+2’⚽️ Hamdi Fathi 84’▪︎Ahly take a healthy 2 goal aggregate to Casablanca.#TotalEnergiesCAFCL #CAFCL pic.twitter.com/ykd9O21Ed7— Africa Soccer Zone (@AfricaSoccer_zn) April 22, 2023 We witnessed a physical game, with not much action around the boxes. The hosts, though, were more solid in the attack, finding those tiny pockets of space which allowed them to celebrate more than a decent victory.Man of the match, Mohamed Abdelmonem, bagged a header two minutes into the first-half stoppage time, while Hamdi Fathi added another near the end for an important win.##NAJAVA_MECA_7198413##
