The stalemate means that FAR ends top of Group B and will be seeded in quarterfinals with Sundowns finishing as runners-up.
Mamelodi Sundowns ended their CAF Champions League group stage campaign with a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to AS FAR at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday night. The Brazilians were on their way to a comfortable victory after Peter Shalulile’s early first half strike until Amine Zouhzouh equalised for FAR with seven minutes left.
The goal was completely against the run of play as Sundowns largely dominated the game. The stalemate means that FAR ends top of Group B and will be seeded in quarterfinals, with Sundowns finishing as runners-up.
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There’s a real possibility of Masandawana being drawn against fellow Betway Premiership rivals Orlando Pirates in the last eight. The Buccaneers will be seeded in the next round after winning their group. Meanwhile, Cardoso might also be pitted against his former team Esperance, who will be one of the seeded teams.
Masandawana came into the game knowing that a win would see them leapfrog FAR at the top of the standings. The Moroccan team had already sealed their place in the knockout phase before kick-off. They were happy to just get bodies behind the ball and wind down the clock.
Shalulile opened the scoring as early as the 12th minute with a well-taken header from a Lucas Ribeiro free-kick that was swung into the box. It was one-way traffic from then on until the 83rd minute when poor concentration let the South African champions down.
Such was Sundowns’ dominance in the early exchanges that they had 74% of possession in the opening half. FAR showed little resolve in Tshwane and had no shot on target at half-time.
Shalulile was not starved of service and could have had a first-half hat-trick, but poor finishing let him down. The second half was almost a carbon copy of the opening 45 minutes, with Sundowns seeing more of the ball.
FAR nearly equalised with what would have been an own goal by Costa in the 67th minute. His awkward clearance hit the crossbar following a free-kick on the right that had Ronwen Williams rooted to his line.
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Sundowns were eventually punished late in the game by Zouhzouh who tapped home from a Youssef El Fahli cross from the left. Raja Casablanca finished third on the table after a narrow 1-0 win over AS Maniema Union.
