Mamelodi Sundowns gear up to host CR Belouizdad for the 2nd Leg of the CAF Champions League Quarteflrfinal. The Brazilians will be looking to add onto their 4-1 victory from the first leg when they visited Algeria. Head Coach, Rulani Mokwena talked through the preparations for their home game.
Coach Rulani spoke about the upcoming critical Champions League game and said, “It’s an important game for us. I said it after we played them away that they are a good side that has a lot of internationals. A team that will definitely give us a lot of problems because they will try to discover how we got the result in the first leg. We have to give our best, have the right mentality and try to win the football match.”
Alexi Guendouz and Youcef Laouafi form part of the Belouizdad players that Coach Mokwena regards as highly skilled, experienced, and quality players. Going into this game, he mentioned that they will not underestimate their opposition.
As a part of the preparations, the Masandawana Coach shared that he spent time watching Real Madrid with the intention to figure out what makes them so good in the Champions League. He added that he watched their game against Liverpool where they won 5-2 to see what skims and organisational forms they had. For the return game, they played like there was no score to use as a cushion.
That is the biggest lesson from that game that the coach shared with the players was that they shouldn’t rely on their away win. Having the same hunger, determination, and drive for the weekend game when they host the Algerian side will play a crucial role in the squad winning the game and proceeding to the semi-finals of the continental competition.
“We have addressed the players on what we need to have from a psychological perspective because it’s going to be a very difficult game. We understand how complex this game can become if we don’t have the right approach from a psychological perspective”, said the Brazilians Coach as he emphasized the importance of heading to the game with a positive and strong mindset.
Mamelodi Sundowns will be taking on CR Belouizdad on Saturday, 29 April 2023. The Continental competition will take place at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium and will Kick off at 15h00.
Masandawana supporters wearing yellow or any Mamelodi Sundowns gear will receive free tickets to watch the spectacle live. Confirmed pick-up points for the collection of the tickets will be at Eastwood Tarven, Park & John Street, Maple & Brescher Street. Martin Jameson & University Road, and at Park & Burnett Street.
Lets give them 6 and go home. Let us guard against complacency. Let us bring our A game again and proceed to the semi-final against Simba or Wydad Casablanca