CAFCL: Petro de Luanda struggled against difficult Stade Malien—Valinho

Petro de Luanda assistant coach Joachim Valinho has admitted that Stade Malien FC were difficult opponents for the Angolans to beat in Sunday’s CAF Champions League (CAFCL) group stage defeat.

He reflected on the outcome of the Group D match after second-half goals from Taddeus Nkeng and Mamadou Traoré ensured the maximum points for the hosts.

🎞️ Match Highlights:
Stade Malien get the job done at home with a 2-0 win over Atlético Petróleos. #TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/chTlXYGJIb

— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) January 25, 2026

The West Africans assumed leadership of the group after taking their tally to seven points from three games. The result relegated the Girabola kings to third place with four points.

In a post-match interview with the CAF media, Valinho admitted that his side had problems dealing with the hosts in the second-half, despite a late futile fightback.

“Obviously, we are not happy with the result and with the final score,” the assistant coach said. “It was a difficult match. We already knew that it would be very difficult to play here against Stade Malien; a very strong team.

The first-half was quite balanced, and obviously we conceded two goals in the beginning of the second-half.”

Can Petro de Luanda bounce back in the reverse fixture?

Despite the setback, the right-hand man for head coach Flávio Amado insists they can bounce back in the next game and enhance their chances of progressing past the group-stage.

“It was a difficult moment for us, and we must analyse with the players with the technical staff to be ready for the match in Luanda next week. In the final minutes, we tried to fight to reach the opponents’ goal. We created a couple of chances. Unfortunately, it was impossible to score and we needed to work. Next week, we will try to win this match,” Valinho added.

Petro de Luanda will host the champions from Mali on Friday in Luanda, aware that only maximum points will be good enough.

Elsewhere in the group, Espérance de Tunis beat Simba SC 1-0 to leave the Tanzania Mainland Premier League giants bottom of the group and without a point after three games.

CAFCL: Group D Table