Mamelodi Sundowns held on to clinch a 3-0 victory over Zamalek in the first leg of the Caf Champions League finals at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday.

The match got off to an even start as both side’s had a fair amount of possession on the ball in the opening exchanges of the match.

However, the Brazilians started dominating the match from the 15th minute as the likes of Percy Tau, Khama Billiat, and Keagan Dolly started seeing more possession of the ball.

Pitso Mosimane’s side broke the deadlock in the 30th minute when Hlompho Kekana picked out Anthony Laffor, who blazed the ball home from the edge of the box.

Sundowns continued to threaten in front of goal and were gifted with a goal in the 39th minute when Tebogo Langerman’s cross evaded everyone to sail into the back of the net past the Zamalek goalkeeper.

The home side maintained the same attitude in the second half and extended their lead to 3-0 shortly after the break when Islam Gamal deflected Tau’s shot into the back of his own net.

Zamalek were dealt a major blow after the hour mark when goalkeeper Ahmed El-Shennawy picked up a hamstring injury and was forced off the field.

With Sundowns comfortably leading, Mosimane introduced veteran midfielder Teko Modise for Billiat, as they look to retain possession of the ball with just over 25 minutes remaining.

The White Knights did create opportunities at goal in the closing stages of the second half but the Egyptians were let down by some poor decision-making in the final third.

However, the Brazilians managed to secure a 3-0 victory over Zamalek to give the Absa Premiership side a comfortable lead heading into the second leg of the finals.

Image: Backpagepix/Samuel Shivambu