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Colombian forward Brayan Leon was once again the decisive figure for Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Esperance of Tunisia in the second leg of their Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League semi-final.
The 25-year-old, who joined the South African side from Independiente Medellin just three months ago, had also scored the lone goal in the first leg in Tunis last week.
His two goals secured a 2-0 aggregate victory for Sundowns, sending them into the final where they will face either Morocco’s FAR Rabat or Renaissance Berkane over two legs.
FAR Rabat take a 2-0 advantage into their second-leg clash in Berkane later on Saturday.
Sundowns, who are chasing a second continental title, will host the first leg of the final in Pretoria on May 15, with the return leg scheduled for May 24 in Morocco.
Like Sundowns, FAR Rabat are former champions, having won Africa’s top club competition in 1985 when it was still known as the African Cup of Champions Clubs, while Berkane are chasing their first Champions League title after success in the CAF Confederation Cup.
The return leg at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, which was played in front of a packed 40,000 crowd, produced few clear scoring chances.
Esperance goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said produced a sharp save to deny Leon midway through the first half, while later also conceding a penalty after a collision involving the striker during a clearance attempt.
Although Ben Said saved Leon’s weak spot-kick, the striker reacted quickest to slot home the rebound in the 35th minute.
Esperance came close to equalising before half-time when a header deflected off Florian Danho and struck the crossbar.
The second half remained quiet until late on, when Ben Said denied efforts from Marcelo Allende and Jayden Adams to keep Esperance in the contest.
Despite introducing fresh attacking options, the Tunisian side were unable to break down Sundowns’ defence as the South African club held firm to seal qualification.
