Jonty Mark

By Jonty Mark

Football Editor


Sundowns draw Wydad Casablanca yet again

Mamelodi Sundowns will face old friend and foe Wydad Casablanca in the Caf Champions League at least another two times, after the pair were drawn together in Group C at the group stage draw for the Caf Champions League in Cairo on Wednesday evening.


Sundowns have been involved in an ongoing Champions League battle with Wydad since 2017, when the Moroccan giants beat Masandawana on penalties in the quarterfinals, after 1-0 wins for either side in their respective home legs.

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In 2018, Sundowns and Wydad met in the group stages, and the Moroccans again got the better of Pitso Mosimane’s men, beating them in Casablanca and drawing 1-1 in Tshwane, as they topped the group, while Sundowns missed out entirely on the quarterfinals.

In the 2018/19 campaign, the two teams again faced off in the group stages, with Sundowns beating Wydad 2-1 at home in a tempestuous match, and Wydad winning 1-0 in Casablanca, as both teams made the quarterfinals.

After winning their last eight games, Sundowns and Wydad met again in the semifinals, and this time after losing the first leg 2-1 in Casablanca, Sundowns were unable to find a way past their opponents at home, with a goalless draw sending Wydad into the final, though the tournament ended in controversy as Esperance of Tunisia were awarded the title after Wydad refused to continue playing in the second leg in Tunis.

Sundowns are South Africa’s only team in the group stages of the 2019/20 Caf Champions League, and have also been drawn alongside Algeria’s USM Alger and Angola’s Petro de Luanda in Group C.

Mosimane’s men will start their campaign at home to Petro on the weekend of November 29 to December 1 and will then travel to Casablanca to play Wydad on the weekend of December 6-8, before finishing the year by heading off to Algiers to play USM Alger on the weekend of December 27-29.

 

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