USM Alger beat Mamelodi Sundowns 3-1 in the CAF Super Cup — TimesLIVE

Algerian side USM Alger defeated South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns 3-1 in the African Confederation of Football Super Cup match in Pretoria, South Africa. As TimesLIVE reports, the hosts had the upper hand during the game, but the Algerian team converted its chances.

Early goal for the visitors

USM Alger opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute. Ahmed Khaldi beat an opponent on the right side of the penalty area and passed back to Zakaria Draoui, who scored from close range.

Before the match, Sundowns midfielder Nuno Santos was injured during the warm-up, so coach Miguel Cardoso brought on forward Cassius Mailula in his place. In the 16th minute, the hosts made another enforced substitution: Iqraam Rayners replaced Brian Leon.

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Goals before the break

In the 23rd minute, Mamelodi Sundowns were awarded a penalty for handball after a VAR review. Rayners converted from the spot to level the score. However, ten minutes before the break, Saadi Radouani put USM Alger back in front, scoring with a header after the first header had hit the crossbar.

The start of the second half was delayed by more than 30 minutes due to bad weather. After play resumed, Sundowns continued to seek an equalizer, while the visitors defended compactly. In the 55th minute, Khaldi struck a curling shot from outside the penalty area to make the final score 3-1.

Sundowns were seeking to add the CAF Super Cup to their MTN8 and FIFA African Asian Pacific Cup trophies. In September, the team defeated Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli at the same stadium and won the African Asian Pacific Cup.