Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro, Namibian Peter Shalulile and Uruguayan Gaston Sirino scored as Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa cruised to a 3-0 CAF Champions League win over Nouadhibou of Mauritania on Sunday.
Ribeiro fired into the corner of the net after 23 minutes of a Group A first round match staged in 35 degree Celsius heat in Pretoria.
Shalulile rose unopposed to head the second goal five minutes later at Loftus Versfeld, a 52 000 seat stadium Sundowns share with the Bulls rugby team.
Gol Do Mamelodi 🇿🇦
— Futeboleiros TW (@futeboleiros_tw) November 26, 2023
🇿🇦 Mamelodi 2-0 Nouadhibou 🇲🇷
⚽ Peter Shalulile
🏆 Liga Dos Campeões da CAF | Rodada 1 pic.twitter.com/WagtnG6oeW
Mauritanian goalkeeper Babacar Diop was red-carded for dashing off his line 20 minutes from time and recklessly fouling Sirino, who converted the resultant free-kick.
The outcome was predictable as there is a vast gap between Sundowns and Nouadhibou in African competitions.
Kicking off our #TotalEnergiesCAFCL group stage with a win! ✅✅
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) November 26, 2023
Mamelodi Sundowns (23' Ribeiro, 28' Shalulile, 74' Sirino) 3⃣➖0⃣ FC Nouadhibou#Sundowns #DownsLive #TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/ybS0x4rrRQ
Sundowns won the Champions League in 2016 and reached the knockout stage in six of the following seven editions. They also won the inaugural African Football League two weeks ago.
Nouadhibou are debuting in the 16-club group stage having failed to qualify in seven previous attempts.
In the other Group A match Pyramids of Egypt edged TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo 1-0 in Cairo on Friday thanks to a goal from South African Fagrie Lakay.