20-year-old Raed Bouchneba’s strike meant a lot to the Esperance Sportive de Tunis’ entourage as they celebrated together with immense passion.
It was a beautiful goal as the angle was against the young Tunisian defender. Brazillian forward Rodrigo Rodrigues put Bouchniba through and he kept his composure and scored.
After being under incessant pressure throughout the whole game, Esperance ST made sure the tie was over in the 57th minute.
The back four of Esperance Sportive de Tunis has caught the attention of the continent because of the seven clean sheets they have kept. They proved why they are the best team defensively with Meriah and Tougai at the centre back showing their experience and shutting down Sundowns’ threat.
Mamelodi Sundowns struggled to break down Esperance. They showed their calmness on the ball and played their normal tiki-taka but they were not good enough to silence the Tunisians.
Mamelodi Sundowns’ best chance came in the first half when Peter Shalulile after connecting with Marcelo Allende’s cross failed to beat the impressive Amanallah Memmiche.
Esperance defended pretty well and protected their lead to finish the game 1-0. The Tunisian giants progressed to the finals with a superb 2-0 aggregate win against the champions of South Africa.
It was deja vu for the Masandawana fans. It has become a norm for them to deliver in the group stage but struggle to replicate the form in the group stage in the knockout stage.
Massive disappointment it was for Rulani Mokeena and his boys as many thought they were the overwhelming favourites to reach the finals.
