Shalulile strikes to take Sundowns to victory

by Graeme Jackson

Tuesday Apr 01, 2025. 17:06

Peter Shalulile scored the only goal of the game as Mamelodi Sundowns defeated Esperance de Tunis in the first leg of their CAF Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday.

The result at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium puts the South African side in charge of the tie, but they will surely face a testing return game in Tunisia, set for the evening of next Tuesday, 8 April.

The first half was a cagey affair, with neither side able to create any clear scoring chances. Sundowns had a couple of long-range efforts which either didn’t trouble Esperance goalkeeper Bechir Ben Sair, or were easy for him to handle.

At the other end, the visitors had a couple of promising moments when their press caught the hosts dawdling on the ball, but they weren’t able to truly prise open Sundowns’ defence and test out Ronwen Williams.

The Brazilians made a more determined start to the second half and were rewarded with a goal in the 54th minute. Lucas Ribeiro’s reverse diagonal cross into the box was headed into the danger area by Jayden Adams, and Peter Shalulile stabbed home just inside the near post at close range for 1-0.

The remainder of the game often devolved into scrappy passages of play, interspersed with incidents of aggression between the teams – a scenario which suited Sundowns, as they were able to deny Esperance any attacking rhythm and control the game up to the final whistle.

The return leg-match will be played at the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium in Tunis on the evening of Tuesday 8 April.

Mamelodi Sundowns (0) 1 (Shalulile 54’)

Esperance de Tunis 0

Sundowns: Williams, Mudau, Kekana, Suarez, Modiba (Lunga 46’), Mokoena, Allende, Adams (Aubaas 86’), Morena (Sales 46’), Ribeiro, Shalulile (Maseko 83’)

Esperance: Ben Said, Tougai, Bouchniba, Konate (Tka 72’), Ben Hamida, Jelassi, Yan Sasse (Jebali 72’), Mokwana, Belaili, Guenichi (Rodrigues 81’), Ogbelu