Sundowns’ Lebusa wary of Pirates’ Champions League slayer

Mamelodi Sundowns defender Mosa Lebusa has highlighted the need to contain Pyramids FC striker Fiston Mayele in the first leg of the CAF Champions League final at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Mayele, who played a key role in knocking out Orlando Pirates with a brace in the semi-final, has been in red-hot form, scoring eight goals in 11 matches to fire the Egyptian side into their first ever champions league final.

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Lebusa and his teammates know that keeping the prolific Congolese forward quiet will be crucial if Sundowns are to secure a second continental crown, and their first since lifting the title in 2016.

“Yes, Mayele is a very good player but we don’t focus on one player. We focus on the team as a whole and try to make sure that we keep as far away from our box as possible,” Lebusa said at the club’s Chloorkop headquarters on Wednesday morning. 

“We have to make sure that we minimise their chances because in and around the box, he’s (Mayele) very deadly. That’s one thing we’re looking at and helpfully we will succeed. We watched their games and it’s not by chance that they are where they are. 

“It’s going to be difficult but we have a very strong technical team that has been analysing them and we also have been analysing as players to see where we can captilise on.”

Masandawana have maintained a flawless defensive record on home soil during the knockout stages. They kept clean sheets against both Espérance and Al-Ahly in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. 

Lebusa believes that another solid defensive display will be vital in their quest to secure Africa’s most coveted club trophy, one that has slipped from their grasp for the past nine years.

“Any result where we don’t concede will be good. We don’t want to concede at home because we know that going away, we always have a goal in us,” he added. 

“So we’ll keep them away from our goal and if we get goals, then it will be a bonus for us. Every season, we felt like it was ours but we couldn’t get past the semi-finals. 

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“However, we are taking it easy and we don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on ourselves. We know we’re close and it’s on us as players to make sure that we bring the trophy home.”