New coach Miguel Cardoso suffered his first defeat at Mamelodi Sundowns as they suffered a 1-0 reversal at Moroccan outfit Raja Casablanca in the CAF Champions League on Saturday, a game in which they had two players sent off.
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Benaissa Benamar’s winner late in the first half secured the victory for Raja, with Sundowns now in second place in the pool with five points from their four fixtures.
Tough game today, our focus now shifts to the next game!
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) January 4, 2025
Raja Casablanca (45+2' Ben Amar) 1️⃣➖0️⃣ Mamelodi Sundowns#Sundowns #TotalEnergiesCAFCL #RabatsenaGape pic.twitter.com/G1Rh9XBSo1
Morocco’s FAR Rabat (eight points) look to have one foot in the quarterfinals, meaning it could be a shootout between Sundowns, Raja (four points) and debutants Union Maniema (three points) from the DR Congo for the second spot.
Sundowns had Bathusi Aubaas and Khuliso Mudau sent off, while the home side also received a red card for Marouane Zila in a feisty encounter.
“It was obviously a difficult match. I think that first half especially we had to cope with a lot of pressure that reduces the spaces to play,” Cardoso told reporters. “We were not able to find the spaces that were available, mostly on the back of their defence.
“They put their defensive line very high. So, we struggled a little bit to find the spaces.
The drama continues in Casablanca as another red card is shown 😲🔴
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) January 4, 2025
📺 Stream #TotalEnergiesCAFCL on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc pic.twitter.com/zUb8xHrqvs
“But what really changed the game is the way we suffered a goal in the last minutes of the first half because it’s always mentally, emotionally difficult to deal with a goal in the last minutes when we need to re-organise the team.
“We had just lost one player (Aubaas), so we needed to arrive at halftime in order for us to eventually make all the arrangements and tactically position the team in the best way.
This is how Matchday 4 in the #TotalEnergiesCAFCL wraps 👇
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) January 4, 2025
Raja Casablanca bounce back to take the win at home over Sundowns ⚽ pic.twitter.com/tSVLC2LlQz
“Even suffering the goal, we did it. It was clear that during the second half, we managed to control the game. We just gave some opportunities in counter-attack for Raja. Unfortunately, we were not able to score. We managed tactically different approaches on the second half.
“After the red card, we rebalanced the team in order to try to make it our best to win. We had two free moments. We didn’t take advantage from them.”
Bathusi Aubaas is shown a straight red 🤯🔴
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) January 4, 2025
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Sundowns will face Maniema away on Saturday and then host FAR Rabat on 19 January in a tricky finish to the pool.
“Unfortunately, the result is what it is. Now it’s important to focus on the next one, look forward, look for what we have ahead. It’s an important match now to play away with Maniema.
“So, let’s recover as much as we can our players. We’ll see the best tactical approach so we can win the next match and make the qualification closer, obviously.”