By Lorenz Kohler.
Mamelodi Sundowns cruised to a 3-1 win over St Eloi Lupopo in their CAF Champions League Group C opener at Loftus Versfeld stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Sundowns started brightly in the first stages and were rewarded with Nuno Santos finishing off an exceptional through ball from Miguel Reisinho. It appeared as if it were to be one way traffic from there on but Lupopo had other ideas.
They remained compact, in shape and disciplined against the attack-minded Sundowns, and were rewarded for their efforts just before the break when star forward Ramos Kashala levelled matters.
But Sundowns, with their experience in Africa’s elite club competition fought back against the rookies in the second half, with Marcelo Allende restoring their lead after the hour mark and Santos bagging his second 17 minutes later.
It went on to be a comfortable ending for the home side as they move top of their group after Al Hilal beat Rulani Mokwena’s MC Alger 2-1 on Friday afternoon in Kigali, Rwanda.