Cardoso admits Sundowns were blunt in attack in home leg draw against Ahly

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso admitted his team were blunt in attack after their home leg draw in their Caf Champions League semifinal tie against Al Ahly on Saturday where the Brazilians lacked conviction and control.

Downs were held to a 0-0 draw at Loftus, making for a tough excursion to the intimidating, 80,000-seat Cairo International Stadium for the return leg on Friday (6pm SA time).

Both South African semi-finalists were given tough encounters at home against their Egyptian opponents, with Orlando Pirates also held 0-0 by Pyramids FC at FNB Stadium.

While draws at home were not ideal, not conceding does mean Downs and Bucs can progress with scoring draws on the away goals rule, or they have to win.

Cardoso believes the Brazilians are capable of earning a positive result in Cairo, but admitted his team were prevented from being as sharp in attack as he would have preferred against Swiss coach Marcel Koller's excellently-drilled 12-time champions Ahly.

The Portuguese said Ahly, even by their standards in a Champions League knockout away leg, were more conservative in their approach than usual, which shows they are wary of Sundowns.

“I can say we didn’t create as many chances as we wanted to, and as we could is another question. When you say 'as you could', it means you have the capacity,” Cardoso said. 

“You must remember we don’t play alone and it is important to understand who we are facing and how they positioned themselves in this match. We never see Al Ahly play like they did in this match.

“They settled at the back and that shows how much they respect us and they believe we can be strong. They were worried about closing the spaces for us and I have never seen them play with four centrebacks, but they did in this match.

“The boys tried hard, I have to congratulate them because these games are tricky. You should also be respectful when you speak about who you have ahead of you.

“We are speaking about a team that has played five finals in the last five years, and in 2021 they beat Kaizer Chiefs 3-0 in the final. I know that Sundowns have already won against Al Ahly several times.”

Sundowns have a decent record against Al Ahly, winning five, losing five and drawing six of 16 encounters (14 in the Champions League and two in the African Football League).

Koller has reportedly been under  pressure at the Red Devils as the side has been less dominant this season than in his previous two. Ahly won the Premier League, Egyptian Cup and Champions League in 2022-23 and league and Champions League in 2023-24.

This campaign they are four points behind Pyramids in the Egyptian Premier League and squeezed through the Champions League's Group C, a point above CR Belouizdad and four behind Pirates.

Ahly beat Sudan's Al-Hilal 2-0 on aggregate in their quarterfinal.

A place in the Champions League final would go a long way towards restoring faith in Koller in Cairo. That, and Ahly's form not being as convincing in this Champions League so far as it might have been, would explain the Egyptian club's ultraconservative approach in the first leg.

Cardoso will hope, as Ahly open up more and attack at home, there will be more spaces for Downs' attack to try to exploit on Friday.