Sundowns finish second after Vita draw

Ahead of the match Sundowns had been three points clear of Saint George club, and had possessed a superior head-to-head record with the Ethiopians (who in any case lost to Esperance de Tunis), which meant that the Pretoria side’s place in the quarter-finals had been secure before kick-off.

They will now square up to Morocco outfit Wydad Casablanca in home and away quarter-final fixtures scheduled for September.

The Brazilians were on the front foot from the start in front of a lively crowd in Attridgeville and visiting keeper Nelson Bongaman had to make two smart stops in the opening eight minutes to keep out Percy Tau and Yannick Zakri.

The DRC team did have one or two moments in front of goal, but for the most part, the home side looked dangerous on attack and they had another chance on the half-hour mark, only for Thabo Nthethe to send his header over the bar.

Nthethe, however, was to make amends soon after when the central defender finished with a cool side-foot into the net following a brilliant pass by Thapelo Morena on 34 minutes.

Sundowns remained in control after the restart, dishing up some scintillating football, and the Vita keeper had to make a very good save to keep Tau out on 53 minutes.

More opportunities followed as Zakri and Laffor both went close, though the visiting team were nearly back on level terms 25 minutes from time when Yazid Atouba’s shot tipped the crossbar with Kennedy Mweene beaten.

It was Atouba who was to get the equaliser after he rifled in a powerful volley from the edge of the box in the 74th minute.

Sniffing the win, AS Vita upped the ante further in the closing stages of the game, but Pitso Mosimane’s side held on with relative comfort to end the group phase on nine points – three behind Esperance and four more than both Vita and Saint George.