Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena praised his team after beating TP Mazembe to finish top of the Group A standings in the CAF Champions League.
The Brazilians walked away with a positive result in their final group game after clinching a 1-0 win over the DR Congo outfit thanks to a goal from Peter Shalulile.
As a result, Sundowns finished top of Group A with 13 points from six matches, while Mazembe finished second in the group on 10 points from six games.
Mokwena believes that the result does not reflect their performance and felt his side could have scored more goals throughout the match.
“Congratulations to the Club, players, technical and team as a whole. I think we had a difficult group on the draw when it came out initially but I think we have done very well to finish on top of a very difficult group,” Mokwena told his club’s official website.
“We bounced back after the patch in between with the results against Pyramids FC and TP Mazembe but we showed good mentality to bounce back and get positive results.
“We stressed the importance of winning this game especially because there was a little bit of a bitter taste left after we lost against TP Mazembe away from home in the first leg, and maybe undeservedly because I thought we really played well in Lubumbashi.
“We played very well today, we had so much control. A performance like that needed one or two more goals but today’s performance was spotless,” he added.
“I was really happy, not necessarily with the results – because I think a performance like that deserves maybe a bigger scoreline – but the control, personality, aggression, counter-pressures and passes.
“The players played with bravery, courage and we took a lot of big risks when we needed to and that’s how big teams must play.
“I’m very proud of the players for finishing on top which was very important. It ticks a lot of boxes, it gives us points for the Club World Cup, it gives us confidence going to the knockout round and it also makes sure that we continue to do what we are doing which is to try winning every game that we play,” he concluded.
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