Mamelodi Sundowns Manager Explains Biggest Lesson From Last Season’s CAF Champions League

• Rhulani Mokwena is wary of ES Tunis ahead of the CAF Champions League semi-final
• The Mamelodi Sundowns manager has reflected on how his side crashed out last season
• The tactician understands how delicate the away-goal rule is in the competition

The head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns, Rhulani Mokwena, has shared an insight into last season's CAF Champions League heartbreak.

Sundowns are already through to the semi-final of this season's competition and will face ES Tunis later this month.

However, their quarter-final victory over Young Africans is being questioned by the Tanzanian outfit.

Yanga SC have lodged a complaint to CAF after the referee and VAR disallowed Aziz Ki's effort as the ball seemed to have crossed the line.

Both legs ended goalless, but the South African outfit went on to win the tie via a penalty shootout.

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As they begin preparation for the ES Tunis cracker, Mokwena says that he already learned a big lesson as per the away-goal rule.

Last season, Masandawana crashed out of the tournament losing to Wydad Athletic after conceding two goals at home.

Mokwena has now disclosed that his formation will focus on the defense as they hope to prevent their opponents from scoring.

He said, via iDiski Times:

“I think the biggest lesson I learned was the importance of the away goals in the Champions League.

“And I said to myself, really right from the beginning, is that if we are to lose a tie, it must not be because we’ve conceded goals. And that is one of the things I worked very, very hard with the technical team and the coaches to try to improve on our side is, is the team."

Rhulani speaks on goal scoring problems

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Sports Brief earlier reported that Mamelodi Sundowns head coach, Rhulani Mokwena, shed light on the team's recent difficulty in scoring goals compared to other clubs like Orlando Pirates.

Despite expressing his desire for Sundowns to replicate high-scoring feats, Mokwena highlighted the challenge of facing defensive-minded opponents who employ low-block strategies, resulting in narrow victories for his team.

In their most recent DSTV Premiership clash against Cape Town Spurs, Masandawana managed to secure a 1-0 win courtesy of a penalty converted by Lucas Ribeiro, extending their lead at the top of the log to 13 points.