Mamelodi Sundowns overcame Tunisian giants Espérance Sportive de Tunis with a hard-fought 1-0 victory in their CAF Champions League quarter-final first leg.
The packed Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria witnessed a tactical battle decided by Peter Shalulile’s second-half strike, giving the Brazilians a crucial advantage.
Following the significant win, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso, drawing upon his intimate knowledge of his former club, Espérance de Tunis, offered insightful analysis into the Tunisian side’s key strengths.
Read: Sundowns take goal and clean sheet to Tunisia for second-leg showdown with Esperance
Cardoso expressed his delight with the victory and voiced his hopes for progression to the semi-finals ahead of the return leg in Tunisia. However, the Portuguese tactician also provided a detailed breakdown of their opponents, emphasizing Espérance’s proficiency in exploiting the spaces left vulnerable by attacking teams.
“I have to push them [players] to play quality football [in the second leg],” Cardoso asserted. “But I believe that CAF Champions League matches are for grown-ups and not for kids. It is not for naive players.” This statement underscored the high-stakes nature of the competition and the need for tactical maturity.
Elaborating on the challenges awaiting his team in Tunisia, Cardoso explained, “My job is to cope with the moments, but believe me when I say we have to play there [in Tunisia] to win. But playing there to win is also not being naive in the way you attack. We need to know how to attack them because there’s always a moment [to lose the ball] when you attack and you suffer from that.”
He further highlighted Espérance’s danger in transition: “And that is a moment where Esperance are very strong. So we have to cope with those [chances]. We need to be very wise. The moment you lose the ball, how do you avoid making mistakes from that?”
Looking ahead to the second leg, Cardoso also identified potential avenues for Sundowns to score. “We need to be very aggressive on set pieces because we have good headers. But we can also score there [in Tunisia]. We’ve been scoring everywhere.”
The Betway Premiership giants are scheduled to face Espérance in the decisive second leg at the Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi in Tunisia on Tuesday, April 8th, at 9 PM Central African Time.
With a slender 1-0 lead secured, Masandawana will journey to Tunisia next week fully aware that a disciplined defensive performance could seal their passage to the CAF Champions League semi-finals and provide long-awaited revenge for last season’s semi-final heartbreak.
The return fixture on April 8th, 2025, will mark a significant occasion as Miguel Cardoso returns to face his former club with a favorable result in hand. This victory in the first leg is particularly noteworthy as it marks Cardoso as the first Mamelodi Sundowns coach to achieve a win against Espérance de Tunis, adding a remarkable chapter to the club’s history.