Menzi Magubane
Mamelodi Sundowns suffered a shock 2-1 in Angola to Petro De Luanda in the first leg of their CAF Champions League encounter on Saturday.
The match was overshadowed by VAR controversy but ultimately the video assistant referee spot-on on the major calls.
This was Downs’s first defeat in this season’s tournament, having gone on a run which included two victories over defending champions Al Ahly in the group stages.
Sundowns had a strong start to the match, taking an early lead through a brilliant Lyle Lakay freekick in the sixth minute. The lead, however, was short lived as it took just 10 minutes for the home team captain Tiago Azulao to equalise.
Across the first half, Downs had the better scoring opportunities but they continually failed to utilise them.
Then, with one eye on the dressing room, the Pretoria outfit lost their focus when the match was about to go to the break. Striker Adriano “Yano” Nicolau gave Petro the lead in injury time.
In the second half, the hosts held a low block, shutting down and deciding to sit back and allow Sundowns to come at them.
Pressing for a goal left Downs vulnerable on the counterattack and they almost fell further behind in the 75th minute when Azulao had the ball in the back of the net. Celebrations, however, were cut short when an offside was discovered in the build-up.
VAR turned from saviour to villain for Downs. Neo Maema thought he had scored a last gasp equaliser in the 91st minute, but that was cancelled out by the video referee when a foul was rightly spotted in the buildup.
Image source: @TimesLIVE
