Mamelodi Sundowns have progressed to the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League after seeing off Belouizdad of Algeria 2-1 and 6-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
The Brazilians were comfortable 4-1 winners in the first leg in Algiers and had no trouble in the return leg in Pretoria.
Even though Belouizdad took the lead via Sofiane Bouchar, Sundowns responded before the half time break thanks to Thembe Zwane and Thapelo Morena after the restart.
The result sees the South African giants move to the semi-finals for the first time since 2019 and will take on reigning champions Wydad Casablanca who needed penalties to dispatch Tanzanian side Simba SC 4-3 on Friday. The game was level 1-1 after 180 minutes over two legs and Simba could not make history as Shomari Kapombe and Clatous Chama missed their spot kicks in the shootout while Wydad converted all theirs.
The other big clash saw 10-time champions Al Ahly progress to semis after sealing a 2-0 aggregate victory over Raja Casablanca. The Red Devils did the job in first leg in Cairo thanks to Mohamed Abdelmonem and Hamdi Fathi while the return leg in Casablanca was a goalless affair, the biggest highlight being Yousri Bouzok’s missed penalty for Raja in the first half.
Al Ahly will now get to face four-time champions Esperance who defeated JS Kabylie of Algeria 2-1 on aggregate. The Tunisians were victorious 1-0 in the first leg in Tizi Ouzou and went ahead in the return leg on home turf through Mohamed Ben Romdhane at the start of the second half.
Kouceila Boualia had given Kabylie the lead earlier in the first half but it was disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). They got their goal in the 85th minute through Afem Redjem but it was too little too late.
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The two 2022/23 #TotalEnergiesCAFCL finalists will be _____. pic.twitter.com/R3wTFckU8Y
— TotalEnergies CAFCL – TotalEnergies CAFCC ???? (@CAFCLCC) April 29, 2023
The Champions League semi-final first leg will take place on May 12 where Wydad and Esperance enjoy home advantage with the return leg happening a week later.
