It was a mixed day for South African football fans as Mamelodi Sundowns, currently the leaders of the South African Premier Division, eased to victory in the CAF Champions League Group B match, over Algerian Ligue 1 side CR Belouizdad by beating them 5-1.
On the other hand, Kaizer Chiefs suffered defeat at the hands of Morocco’s Wydad AC who crushed the South African club 4-0 in Group C.
Belouizdad were down to 10 men, after just 3 minutes of the game as Chouaib Keddad’s foul gave a penalty to the South African side that was calmly put away by Themba Zwane.
The Algerian club had to play with 1 man less for 85 minutes or so and a goal down. The Algerians showed character as the South African side failed to capitalise further having the man advantage.
Amir Sayoud surprisingly managed to find his name on the scoresheet to make it 1-1 going into the interval.
The Sundowns made sure to make the most of the man advantage in the second half and looked like a completely different team. They started dominating possession and looked threatening on most occasions.
The pressure was telling as just 3 minutes into the second half, Peter Shalulile scored to give the Sundowns the lead once again.
Themba Zwane bagged his second as the striker latched onto an assist from Sirino to make it 3-1. The South African club was not done yet, however, as they punished Belouizdad even more as Lebohand Maboe made it 4-1 in the 78th minute.
Kermit Erasmus made it 5 in the 89th minute to finish the game off in what was a truly fantastic performance by the South African champions who are trying to make it 4 consecutive South African league titles this season.
Kaizer Chiefs will be hoping to give their fans something to cheer about soon. (Photo by ANESH DEBIKY/AFP via Getty Images)
The Kaizer Chiefs were not as fortunate as their nation rivals as they suffered a huge loss at the hands of Moroccan champions Wydad Athletic Club of Casablanca.
Mohamed Ounajem opened the scoring after just 7 minutes and Ayoub El Kaabi made it 2-0 in the 44th minute.
It was a truly dominant performance by the Moroccans who increased their lead towards the end of the game through a Simon Msuva goal in the 86th minute followed by a Yahya Jabrane goal in stoppage time of the second half as Waydad won a penalty.
Kaizer Chiefs had more possession but were not able to threaten Wydad who conveniently broke on the counter to expose the Chiefs defence.
Wydad Casablanca now sit pretty on top of their CAF Champions League group with 6 points after winning both of their games. Kaizer Chiefs have to beat Horoya in the next match to go level on points with them and move into 2nd to have a good shout of qualifying for the knockout stages from Group C.
Mamelodi Sundowns are currently on top of Group B with 6 points out of 6. TP Mazembe are in 2nd with 2 points having drawn both their games, followed by Al-Hilal and Belouizdad who have 1 point each.
Sundowns play TP Mazembe next on 6th March and a victory there will almost certainly book the South African champions’ place in the knockout stages.
