Al Ahly boss Pitso Mosimane has warned his players ahead of their second leg CAF Champions League tie with Mamelodi Sundowns at the weekend. Infact, Mosimane has surprisingly dubbed his former side as favorites to win the continental competitions.
The record nine-time African champions will take on Mosimane’s former side Sundowns on Saturday, after holding a 2-0 advantage from the first leg in Cairo last weekend.
Mosimane got the better of his former side for the first time since he departed the club in September 2020. Ahead of the return leg, Mosimane knows the tie is far from over and has called on his players to keep their guard ahead of that game.
“They are favourites to win the Champions League because of the way they play, it was difficult for us in the second half but we needed patience and play smart, if you’re too emotional playing at home, they will hurt you,” Mosimane said.
“Yes [Mohamed] El Shenaway made one of the biggest saves but that’s part of football. We know we have a lot of mistakes, I know I was frustrated also but you must know, they play differently from the way I used to make them play.
“They play pretty football that beautiful to watch but football is about results, it’s about the goals, we got the goals and that’s what we needed, to go through [to the semi-finals] you need to score goals.”
Despite the two-goal advantage handed to the Red Devils by Taher Mohamed and Salah Mohsen, Mosimane insists he’s experienced enough to know advancing to the semi-finals is not a job done yet.
“I’ll never ever say we’re qualified [already], I’m a professional in my space and I’m never gonna get excited, I’ve been around for 20 years. I’ve seen the biggest turnarounds,” he explained.
“I’ve seen Liverpool losing to Barcelona and then winning the Champions League, never ever, we are professionals. If we lose, we lose because of mistakes and not because of attitude, not in my space.”
The Club of the Century take on Sundowns for the highly anticipated second-leg tie at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium on Saturday. Despite the two-goal advantage by the Egyptians, an early goal for Sundowns could change the complexion of the tie and that could indeed leave for a tense tie.
It is also interesting to note that Al Ahly have never won in South Africa, leaving a bad omen for them ahead of the return leg.