Mamelodi Sundowns ended their CAF Champions League Group B campaign with a 1-1 draw against AS FAR Rabat at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday evening.
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The draw saw Masandawana progress to the quarterfinals as Group B runners-up and they will now turn their attention to the Betway Premiership where they are scheduled to square off with Magesi FC on 22 January.
Rabat, on the other hand, advanced to the last eight as Group B winners and they will focus on the Moroccan Botola Pro League where they are set to lock horns with CODM Meknes on 23 January.
Mamelodi Sundowns are through to the #TotalEnergiesCAFCL knockout stages 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/4Rmv7VeqGF
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) January 19, 2025
Masandawana piled pressure on the Militarians from the first whistle and the visitors were conceding a lot of free-kicks in their own half, and they were punished by rejuvenated Peter Shalulile 12 minutes into the match.
Lucas Ribeiro Costa's lovely set-piece found Shalulile who netted with a header to hand Sundowns the lead, and it was the Namibia captain's second goal in as many matches.
Sundowns were leading 1-0 at the interval.
Something from the training ground 😏
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) January 19, 2025
Sundowns lead 1-0 in Pretoria - watch the second half now 🍿
📺 Stream #TotalEnergiesCAFCL on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc pic.twitter.com/f6bRGfP1bl
Ribeiro nearly became the villain after the restart as the Brazilian forward's attempted clearance beat goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, but the woodwork came to Masandawana's rescue in the 67th minute.
However, the visitors did grab the equalising goal with seven minutes left.
Youssef El Fahli set up inspired substitute Amine Zouhzouh who beat Williams at the near-post to ensure that the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Sundowns (1) 1 (Shalulile 12')
AS FAR (0) 1 (Zouhzouh 83')
Sundowns: Williams, Khoza, Kekana, Lunga, Mokoena, Allende, Mkhulise (Maema 77'), Morena, Ribeiro, Rayners (Matthews 77'), Shalulile (Sales 90'+2)
AS FAR: Khayati, De Jesus, Inonga, Derrag (Hadraf 85'), El Fahli, Hooueibib, Bach, Ouarkhane (Beya 76'), Hammoudan (Zouhzouh 63'), Naji, Orebonye (Ajoughlal 85')
