‘When they were Champions League winners, they overturned results from 2-0 down at home,’ said the Sundowns head coach.
In addition to holding a 1-0 advantage from the first leg of the CAF Champions League quarterfinal against Esperance, Mamelodi Sundowns will also benefit from having Miguel Cardoso on their bench.
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The Portuguese coach guided Esperance to the final last season’s competition and possesses all the expertise needed to navigate this tough away fixture against his former club on Tuesday night.
Sundowns only need a draw
With one foot already in the semifinals, a goalless draw would be enough for the Brazilians to progress to the last four. Based on Cardoso’s comments, Sundowns are not in Tunisia to defend their lead, which came from a Peter Shalulile solitary strike at Loftus Versveld last Tuesday.
“They (Esperance) believe in Champions League nights, they have lived wonderful Champions League nights and turning results around. When they were champions league winners, they overturned results from 2-0 down at home,” Cardoso said ahead of the much-anticipated clash.
“If you go there to play for a draw, you will lose because Esperance will be another team at home. Their coach is relaxed because he trusts his players but we’re also relaxed. I know what to expect but I also know what we can do so let’s hope that we’re committed and we play to win and not go there for a draw otherwise we won’t come back with a result.”
As much as Masandawana are targeting another win, Cardoso cautioned against being naive. He expects a different approach from Esperance as they seek to overturn the scoreline in front of their supporters at the Rades Olympic Stadium in Tunis.
‘We have to go out there to win’
“Champions league matches are for grown-ups and not for kids. They are not for naive players and if you suffer a goal in the last 10 minutes against Esperance, and you cry at that moment, then you give them an advantage,” Cardoso concluded.
“My job is to cope with the moments but believe that we have to go out there to win but playing to win doesn’t mean you are naive. There is a moment where you attack and you suffer from it and that is this where Esperance is very strong.”
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“There are spaces where we need to attack and we need to be very wise when we lose the ball. We need to be very aggressive on set-pieces but they will also have to worry about us because we can score there and we’ve been scoring everywhere.”
