Mamelodi Sundowns delivered a resilient performance to hold Esperance de Tunis to a 0-0 draw in the second leg of their CAF Champions League quarterfinal tie, which took place at the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium in Tunis on Tuesday night. This result secured a 1-0 aggregate victory for Sundowns.
With this win, the Brazilians avenged their semifinal defeat against the Blood and Gold in last season’s competition. They will now face the reigning African champions, Al Ahly of Egypt, in the next round of this season’s tournament.
Esperance started strong and almost equalized the tie early on, with Youcef Belali coming close to scoring. However, Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams made an impressive save to maintain his teamβs aggregate lead.
Throughout the first half, the Tunisian team dominated play, but Sundowns mounted a strong response in the closing minutes. Lucas Ribeiro sent a curling shot just wide, while Marcelo Allende struck the crossbar with a powerful drive.
In the second half, Esperance made a substitution and believed they had leveled the score when Jabri found the back of the net shortly after the hour mark. However, a VAR review disallowed the goal, keeping Sundowns ahead on aggregate.
In the final stages of the match, Esperance pressed hard for a breakthrough, but Sundowns, organized by former EST coach Miguel Cardoso, successfully repelled all advances, securing a notable aggregate victory.
