Speaking after their 1-0 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns, Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane warns that the CAF Champions League group stages can deceive you, and the real tournament starts in the knockout stages.
Sundowns beat Al Ahly 1-0 on Saturday to take control of Group A, and move six points ahead of all three other teams.
Mosimane, though, says that winning the group is not the important thing, it is qualifying, and warns that in the knockout stages it will be even tougher in countries where fans have returned.
“You got to understand that we have to go to the last two games and then we go to the knockouts,” Mosimane said after the match.
“All the time group stages will deceive you. You have experience of the group stages.
“Look for the last two, three years. You can win six out of six and stay number one. Let’s go to knockouts and semi-finals and now don’t go to Morocco because it’s open now, 50 000 [fans]. Go to Tunis, it’s 50 000, they’re open, it is a different game.
“Unfortunately in Egypt we don’t open that much. We would wish that we could open, it’s a different game.”
Mosimane, though, added that after beating Ahly home and way, Sundowns should be favourites to win the tournament, but the pressure is on them now.
“But Sundowns has an opportunity to win it now – since 2016, it’s been too long,” Mosimane continued.
“So they’ve invested a lot of money on players. And you can see even in the December transfers, they have really, really invested a lot of money, even more than us.
“And the pressure is on them, they have to win it now, I mean they can beat Al Ahly home and away, so [they] might as well as win it now.
“If they don’t win it, it is the Paris Saint-Germain story again.
“And then you can win the group and the group, you’re good, but the trophy, put it on the table, then we talk.
“Now it’s okay, it’s part of football we’re going through the stages.”
