Mamelodi Sundowns off to winning start

Mamelodi Sundowns got their group stage campaign off to winning start as they narrowly beat Al-Hilal 1-0 on Friday night.

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Themba Zwane scored an early goal, and it proved to be the difference as Sundowns collected maximum points in Rustenburg.

The Sundowns technical team made several changes to their usual starting line-up, bringing in captain Denis Onyango in goal.

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Sundowns got off the best possible start as Zwane broke the deadlock inside the opening eight minutes of the game.

The attacking midfielder received possession from the edge of the box before opening the scoring with a sublime finish.

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Sundowns created a number of goalscoring chances as they dominated the game in midfield but they couldn’t convert.

And that left the Sundowns bench frustrated at times, especially because Al-Hilal had just played a friendly with Cape Town City on Thursday.

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Onyango hardly had anything to do in the first half but his defence knew they had so much more to do in the second half.

The second half got off to a slow start but Sundowns showed dominance midway through the stanza without threatening.

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Towards the end of the game, Al Ahly had two great opportunities, including the effort that was ruled out due to a foul on Onyango.

Ultimately, Sundowns walked away with all the maximum points to go top of Group A with three points from their opening game.

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HOW MAMELODI SUNDOWNS LINED UP AGAINST AL-HILAL

Sundowns XI: D. Onyango, Mudau, Lakay, B. Onyango, De Reuck, Coetzee, Jali, Sirino, Zwane, Safranko, Shalulile.

Subs: Mweene, Lunga, Modiba, Mokoena, Morena, Ralani, Kutumela, Mvala, Saavedra.