CAF Champions League: León header gives Sundowns massive first leg victory in Tunis

Colombian poacher Brayan León nodded in the only goal of the match on Sunday to give South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns the advantage with a 1-0 CAF Champions League semifinal first leg victory over hosts Espérance Tunis.

🎞️ Match Highlights:
Mamelodi Sundowns clinch an impressive win in Rades vs ES Tunis. #TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/w9pCVmbAja

— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) April 12, 2026

León, acquired for a large fee from Independiente Medellin at the beginning of 2026, continues to pay dividends for Masandawana’s push on domestic and continental fronts. He now has 9 goals in 17 matches, including two goals in the Champions League knockout stage.

The visitors did excellently to absorb pressure but easily could have gone behind in the first half. EST striker Florian Danho had a golden chance to open the scoring after a quick throw-in from Ibrahima Keïta in the 33rd minute but after muscling off a defender, the Frenchman fired his powerful effort off the post.

A few minutes later, Sundowns defender Grant Kekana produced a brilliant sliding challenge to prevent a shot attempt from Danho before goalkeeper Ronwen Williams did well to save from Mohamed Amine Tougai’s header on the ensuing corner kick.

And the visitors were rewarded for their staunch resistance early in the second half. Jayden Adams’ excellent pass over the top to the right wing found Thapelo Morena, who wisely chose to volley his cross in first-time to catch the EST defense off guard and find León for a close range header.

Espérance appeared to level the match about fifteen minutes later when Williams failed to claim a lofted ball into his penalty area and hit the ground hard before Aboubacar Diakité nodded in a cross. However, a VAR review determined that Tougai had fouled Williams on the initial aerial challenge and the home supporters were left disgusted with the decision.

South African champions take big step toward CAF Champions League final

Kekana was sent off for a reckless challenge in the 84th minute, sparking a fierce battle for the final minutes as the hosts pushed for at least one goal to take to South Africa. But despite having to endure over ten minutes of stoppage time, Sundowns managed to hold on to take a narrow advantage back home to Pretoria.

The second leg will take place next Saturday (April 18) at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in South Africa’s administrative capital.