“Every member of Mamelodi Sundowns team – and their passionate fanbase across the country and continent – breathed a sigh of relief as the final whistle pierced the Bamako air, signalling the end of a tense CAF Champions League quarter-final second leg against Stade Malien.”

“Msandawana arrived in Mali carrying the comfort of a commanding 3–0 first-leg advantage in Pretoria just last week.”

“Stade Malien pushed, pressed and probed for the full 90 minutes, surging to a 2–0 victory that rattled Miguel Cardoso’s side and tested their resolve.”

“Sundowns have made a dramatic turnaround in the competition, where they were on the brink of elimination from the group stage, needing a win in the final game against their former head coach Rulani Mokwena, who at the time was the boss of MC Alger before his exit earlier this month.”

“Sundowns overcame the challenge with a 2-0 win at Loftus Versfeld to finish runners-up behind Al Hilal and grafted hard against the Mali top-flight champions who topped their group ahead of Esperance, Petro Atletico and Simba SC.”

“Just a half-hour before kick-off, their Betway Premiership rivals Orlando Pirates had surged ahead of them on the log by a point with a resounding 6-0 victory over TS Galaxy.”

“Inside the opening minute, Taddeus Nkeng struck to hand the hosts an early lead, catching Sundowns cold and momentarily rattling their composure.”

“MHaman Mandjan thought he had doubled the advantage, only for VAR to intervene and rule the effort offside – a let-off that Sundowns gratefully accepted.”