Nigeria’s hope of reclaiming the CAF Champions League trophy got a jolt on Sunday when South African side, Mamelodi Sundowns went to Cairo tom defeat Egyptian team, Zamalek.
Zamalek beat Enyimba in Port Harcourt on Group B’s opening week, while the Peoples Elephant lost 1-2 to Sundowns on the pool’s second match day.
With the expulsion of Entente Setif from the competition, each of the three remaining teams is condemned to win at least one away game and all its home matches to be among the two that will make the semifinals. Which means that for Nigeria to have a team in the semifinals, Enyimba must beat Zamalek in Cairo and also beat Sundowns in their reverse fixture in Port Harcourt to stand a chance of making the last four.
Mamelodi Sundowns are the form team in the group, as it was their 2-0 defeat of Setif in Algiers that led to the crisis, which forced CAF to throw out the Algerian side from the competition.
Sundowns have six points; Zamalek three and Enyimba are pointless after also losing at home to the Egyptian club.
On Sunday in Cairo, Tiyani Mabunda put Sundowns ahead after 18 minutes when he latched on to a rebound off the post and slammed the ball past goalkeeper Ahmed El Shenawy.
Zamalek drew level on 37 minutes with Mohamed Ibrahim getting the goal, but Sundown’s Zimbabwean star, Khama Billiat, got the winner for the South Africans in the 67th-minute.
Sundowns will qualify for the semifinals if they beat Zamalek in the reverse fixture later this month or get a draw from their last clash against Enyimba in August.
