Mamelodi Sundowns under Coach Rhulani Mokwena, has been playing arguably the best brand of football on the African continent. The use of a double strike partnership, boosted by sustained progression which has majorly stemmed from Cassius Mailula entering the frame and the work ethic of Teboho Mokoena and Chilean Marcelo Allende has allowed Coach Rhulani Mokwena to a set up that is closer to what he has envisioned for the Brazilians.After a good showing at the club world cup, African giants Al Ahly got back to the CAF Champions League fold to look to go one better than they did last season where they finished second. After the rather underwhelming stint by Coach Ricardo Soares, in stepped Swiss tactician Marcel Koller and this has seen Al Ahly put up some good performances with the array of top talents at their disposal, the chemistry levels have increased at an encouraging rate.The two sides met in a CAF Champions League group B encounter in Egypt and this saw two top tacticians and top teams look to find solutions to questions posed by the other. In this piece we look at how Rulani Mokwena’s structure to gain superioties in the phases of play came up against Marcel Koller’s very tactically disciplined side and the buildup variations and pressing structures evident in the clash.Al Ahly set up in a flat 1-4-4-2 formation with Mr. Reliable Mohammed El Shenawi between the sticks, Mohammed Hany and Ali Malooul occupied the fullback positions while the centre back partnership consisted of Mohammed Abdelmonem and Mahmoud Metwalli. Al Ahly fielded a double pivot of Aliou Dieng and Marwan Attia with Ahmed Abdelkader and Hussein Shahat out on the flanks. The front two had Mamelodi Sundowns old boy Percy Tau with Mohammed Afsha.Rhulani Mokwena went with his tried and tested 1-4-4-2 diamond with Ronwen Williams in goal, fullbacks were the ever reliable Khuliso Mudau and Aubrey Modiba. Grant Kekana and Mothobi Mvala were the central defenders. The midfield four consisted of Teboho Mokoena at the base of the diamond flanked by Sphelele Mkhulise and Marcelo Allende, with Themba Zwane at the tip of the diamond, with the trusted strike duo of Peter Shalulile and Cassius Mailula.The interesting tactical bit that was on show in the game was the buildup and pressing variations of the two sides.Mamelodi Sundowns are known to build out with low output by the goalkeeper to the split centre backs, what was interesting was we could see a centre back look to start the ball to the keeper, this is top notch coaching from Sundowns as this action gives the goalkeeper angles to work on, unlike where the goalkeeper starts the to the split centre backs handicapping a team to only one side. Al Ahly were prepared for the Sundowns build up as they looked to be very aggressive in the press. Al Ahly looked to press in a 1-4-4-1-1 formation initially with Percy Tau pressing the centre backs while Mohamed Afsha was tasked with man marking Teboho Mokoena who is key to Sundowns build up.Mamelodi Sundowns building up in a 2-2 formation with Al Ahly pushing up Marwan Attia and inverting Ahmed Abdelakder to screen the pivotsWith Teboho Mokoena struggling to get onto the ball and with the fullbacks pushed high Sundowns could not become a threat in progression and creation phases hence the team had Marcelo Allende drop next to Teboho Mokoena to look to create superiorities in the buildup phase. Marcelo Allende dropping deep to create a double pivot to enable Mamelodi Sundowns to evade pressure and progress playThis 2-2 buildup structure ensured a sustained period of possession and control for Sundowns who could now combine well with very good combinations between Sphelele Mkhulise and Mailula Cassius and Aubrey Modiba who looked to target the space in behind Mohamed Hany who was majorly caught out when he pushed up, this led to the first Sundowns goal. Mamelodi Sundowns pressing in a narrow 1433 with Themba Zwane blocking access into Aliou DiengMarcel Koller adapted to the 2-2 build up by Mamelodi Sundowns by going man to man by pushing Mohammed Afsha and Percy Tau on the two centre backs, this then caused Ahmed Abdelkader to invert and man mark Marcelo Allende while Marwan Attia pushed up to shadow Teboho Mokoena. This heavily stifled the Sundowns build up.CAF CL: Simba, Vita and ES Tunis pick winsMamelodi Sundowns on the other hand looked to press in a 1-4-4-2 diamond and could change easily into a very narrow 1-4-3-3 shape with the main emphasis being to stifle progression into Aliou Dieng, who when he got on the ball proved dangerous as his quick switches and progression caused problems as his balls in behind to target channels vacated by the Sundowns fullbacks. Aiming to use the 1v1 qualities of Hussein Shahat and the good combinations on the left of Ali Malooul and Ahmed Abdelkader.Mamelodi Sundowns, which are currently ranked as Africa’s best football club have now been unbeaten in their last 23 games.They held Al Ahly to a 2-2 draw in the CAF Champions League Group Stage.FootballDatabaseDotCom rates them as the best football club in Africa. pic.twitter.com/uW9kyOrcVc— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) February 26, 2023 Repeating the same variations from both sides with minimal variations seemed to be the difference once both teams progressed through the thirds and gained territory to disrupt the opposition blocks.
