Sundowns advance to CAF Champions League final four despite concerning defeat

Mamelodi Sundowns endured a difficult CAF Champions League quarterfinal second leg clash against hosts Stade Malien in Bamako but advanced despite Sunday’s 0-2 defeat.

In an apparently comfortable position following a dominant 3-0 first leg victory in Pretoria, Masandawana supporters watched in horror as their club slipped to a two-goal deficit in the first half.

Sundowns unrecognizable in first half

In fact, the visitors could not make to the one minute mark without conceding after Taddeus Nkeng received a pass from Mamadou Traoré and finished past Ronwen Williams in goal. And the tension ratcheted up to an even higher level close to halftime when Haman Mandjan smashed in off the crossbar in the 40th minute following a scramble in front of goal.

The South African champions settled down a bit but failed to do much with their superiority in possession outside of a goal that was disallowed by the offsides flag. Just when it appeared that the visitors had the second leg under control, an inexcusable sliding challenge from left back Aubrey Modiba resulted in a red card to give Stade Malien a numerical advantage for the final twenty minutes.

The Malians came close on a couple of occasions but could not find their way past the Sundowns bunker. A nervy final stretch saw last season’s finalists survive and advance.

It ends in Bamako. ✔️#TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/waYJlcYjqd

— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) March 22, 2026

The reigning Betway Premiership champions will face Tunisia’s Espérance Tunis, who shocked record African club champions Al Ahly of Egypt on Saturday.