Mamelodi Sundowns co-caoch Rulani Mokwena has confirmed a welcome return to the team and compared his side’s approach against Petro de Luanda to Manchester City.
Masandawana face the Angolan giants away from home in their CAF Champions League quarter-final first leg on Saturday and Mokwena revealed that Thapelo Morena has returned to the squad.
“Not much has changed from the status quo prior to Golden Arrows, we’re sitting with the same list, quite a long list [of injuries],” he said when asked by iDiski Times about the club’s injury situation.
“The good thing is we’ve recovered Thapelo Morena, he’s joined us in camp. But apart from that the injury list is the same.”
The Downs co-coach also explained that his side need to be able to adapt to any situation they will find in Angola – similar to when Manchester City changed their style of play in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg at Atletico Madrid.
“You watched Man City against Atletico [Madrid] the other day and Man City are a team that wants to play dominant football, they go away to Madrid and Atletico knowing that they’re chasing the result and trying to play that is dominant and in their face, Man City camouflaged themselves and adapted to the situation and absorbed the pressure and played the way the game was supposed to be played,” he added.
“So we understand that and we’re going to try to be chameleons tomorrow, try to be adapted to what the game says in different phases but also make sure we move into the second in control of our own destiny.
“We have to play the 90 minutes in a way that says to us, we decide how we play the second leg in South Africa.”
Downs topped Group A ahead of Al Ahly, while Luanda finished in second spot of Group D behind Wydad Casablanca – the beat the Moroccon giants 2-1 at home but lost the return leg 5-1.
The game will kick off at 18:00 later today.
