Mamelodi Sundowns face off with Esperance in CAF Champions League semi-final

[p]The South African giants reached this stage after surviving a scare from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/stade-malien/dCu6JsVb/"]Stade Malien[/a] in the second leg quarter-final match played on Sunday evening.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mamelodi-sundowns/lxZ6Bzh6/"]Sundowns[/a] went to Bamako on the back of a comprehensive 3-0 advantage over the Malian side in the first leg, however, they lost 2-0 but qualified 3-2 on aggregate.[/p][p]Stade Malien sparked their quest to overturn their deficit when they took an early lead courtesy of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fomakwang-taddeus/86Ed9jRE/"]Taddeus Nkeng[/a]’s header from close range, with VAR ruling out the initial offside flag.[/p][p]Nkeng thought he had doubled his team’s lead a few minutes later, but VAR ruled his effort offside for being in an offside position.[/p][p]Before the half-time break, the hosts doubled their advantage as Haman Mandjan reacted quickest to a rebound following a scramble in the penalty area.[/p][p]Despite a surging attacking display in the second half, the West Africans were unable to get the much-needed third goal to restore parity as they missed several scoring opportunities.[/p][p]Thanks to the result, Sundowns have now reached a fourth consecutive last-four appearance - a feat which underlined their consistency among Africa’s elite clubs.[/p][embed guid="a6ff8f06-23d3-4bd3-9f23-b6a445df69f1" url="https://x.com/CAFCLCC/status/2035781071371932149" social-type="twitter" /][p]On the other side, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/esperance-tunis/bVINpDMl/"]Esperance[/a] produced a commanding performance in Cairo to send [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/al-ahly/EPsYDm4A/"]Al Ahly[/a] packing from the tournament following a 3-2 away win.[/p][p]Fuelled by their intimidating home fans, the Egyptians took a 10th-minute lead when Mahmoud Hassan ‘Trezeguet’ capitalised on a defensive lapse by the visitors.[/p][p]Notwithstanding Al Ahly’s dominance, it was the Tunisians who had the final say in the second half as they scored three goals to win the five-goal thriller and progressed 4-2 on aggregate.[/p][p]To reach the final, Esperance must negotiate their way past the South Africans, who are gunning for a second African title. Sundowns’ only triumph came in 2016 when they overcame Zamalek 3-1 on aggregate.[/p][p]The second semi-final game will see two Moroccan sides AS FAR and RS Berkane, battle for the second ticket for the final. Both semi-finals will be held in April, while the final will be staged in May 2026.[/p]