Across a tense weekend on the continent, South African giants lived on their nerves and their know how. In a gripping finish to Chiefs vs Zamalek at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, Kaizer Chiefs salvaged a 1-1 draw thanks to late drama, while Mamelodi Sundowns banked a measured point in Algiers after a goalless stalemate with MC Alger in the CAF Champions League.
Stoppage time drama lifts Chiefs spirits
Chiefs started on the back foot and the match felt like it might slip away early. In only the third minute, a sequence that began with Bradley Cross bringing down Juan Bezerra on the edge of the box unraveled the home side. Nasser Maher curled in a cross, Brandon Petersen rushed out and missed, and Inacio Miguel’s attempted clearance fell to Seifeddine Jaziri, who finished low with precision. It was a punch to the gut, and an early reminder of Zamalek’s cutting edge.
There was an immediate hint that Amakhosi would not fold. Gaston Sirino spotted Mohamed Sobhy off his line and cracked a long range effort that crashed off the post in the sixth minute. The jubilation was short lived, however, as Chiefs suffered a double blow, Cross, who appeared to injure himself in that early challenge, departed in the 11th minute for Paseka Mako, and Sirino was stretchered off soon after with a serious looking knock. The rhythm of the hosts took time to recover from those injury blows.
Zamalek continued to carry a threat. They had another goal ruled out before the break and there was a nervy moment when Zitha Kwinika put in a risky challenge on Chico Banza that could have been penalised. The visitors did not extend their lead, but they were winning the moments that mattered and forcing Chiefs into awkward decisions in their own box. The sense of a missed chance for the Egyptian side would later turn into full on frustration.
The second half saw more narrow escapes for Chiefs. In the 50th minute, a Maher cross tempted Petersen off his line again. The goalkeeper got there before Bezerra but could not hold the ball and Miguel had to hack clear from near the goal line. It was a vital goal line clearance that kept the deficit to one.
Chiefs tried to craft a response through set plays and moments of enterprise from the bench. Dillan Solomons won a free kick on the edge of the area in the 61st minute and Mfundo Vilakazi curled just over. Soon after, Sobhy opted for a flamboyant punch to deal with another Vilakazi free kick that was straight at him. Consistent pressure was still elusive, with crosses flashing across the six yard box and no one arriving to apply the crucial touch, a recurring issue that underlined the lack of a true cutting edge.
As time ebbed away, Zamalek almost sealed the win. In the 89th minute, Petersen had to backpedal to tip Omar Gaber’s dangerous cross over the bar, a crucial intervention that kept hope alive. Chiefs did have a half chance when Vilakazi fed Solomons in the 78th minute, but the winger blazed over. The pattern was set, Zamalek in control of the tempo, Chiefs relying on resolve and a last big save.
The turning point and the Solomons surge
Then came stoppage time and the moment that turned the stadium. Vilakazi showed deft control of a deep cross and had the composure to roll the ball back into the right channel for Solomons. The winger burst to the byline and drove a cross toward Sobhy. What should have been a routine claim slipped through the goalkeeper’s fingers and over the line. It was a gutting error from the Zamalek number one, and a cathartic stoppage time equaliser for Amakhosi.
For Solomons, it was a second strike in Group D after last weekend’s brilliant individual effort in a 2-1 loss to Al Masry. For Chiefs, it was the first point of their campaign, hard won, and a reminder that persistence pays. The result gives co head coaches Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze something tangible to build on, and a spark to keep the door to the quarterfinals open.
What the result means for Group D
Chiefs now sit on one point from two matches. Zamalek remain in a strong position with four points from their opening two fixtures, two behind group leaders Al Masry. The Egyptian side will feel they let two points slip, especially given how many chances they created before the late sting. Their interim head coach Ahmed Abdel Raouf offered a blunt assessment of a match his team largely controlled. Home advantage counted for little in the end.
Chiefs never came to our goal. We could have got all three points today. But our next two Confederation Cup games are at home in Egypt and we can win both.
Zamalek made their discontent official after the final whistle. The club submitted a letter to the Confederation of African Football, arguing that refereeing errors harmed their cause, citing the penalty they felt Chico Banza deserved, a disallowed goal for Jaziri, and what they viewed as excessive bookings. The temperature of the tie will rise further when the return fixtures arrive, a subplot that adds spice to an already compelling Group D.
Zamalek Club asserts in its complaint that the refereeing errors in this match affected the final result of the encounter, and that the team deserved a penalty kick for the Angolan player Chico Banza.
In addition to the cancellation of a valid goal for the Tunisian Saifeddine Jaziri without a reason that is clear to everyone who watched the match.
In addition to the referee’s excessive use of yellow cards against Zamalek players throughout the match.
Maboe earns praise and lifts the attack
There was also a significant personal milestone within the broader drama. Lebohang Maboe made his first start for Chiefs, a well traveled 31 year old free agent who had waited to debut after shoulder surgery. His creativity between the lines and ability to connect midfield to attack earned warm post match recognition from Cedric Kaze, an endorsement that hints at a larger role to come as Chiefs grow into this Confederation Cup campaign.
We know his attacking qualities. He can find players in tight spaces, he had a very good game. He is a player who drives other players forward. We need a player like this who can level up the technical quality of the team.
Kaze also cut a proud figure when reflecting on the team’s resolve. Chiefs conceded almost immediately, then lost Sirino and Cross within 15 minutes, yet they found a way to keep believing, to chase and finally claim a result with the last meaningful kick. That spirit, Kaze argued, can power a late push for the last eight in a group that still feels open. His message was rooted in belief.
The game did not go in our favour, we conceded in the first minutes of the game, and we had to make two subs after 15 minutes.
But we kept believing that we could come back. We kept our belief alive and we did everything to try and get back in the game.
We scored at the very end, but I am so proud of the boys. With this kind of mentality I am pretty sure we will qualify for the quarterfinals.
Chiefs turn to league tests against Chippa and TS Galaxy
Before continental football resumes, Amakhosi step back into the Betway Premiership for two matches that can reset domestic momentum. They face Chippa United in Gqeberha on Wednesday, then travel to Nelspruit to meet TS Galaxy on Sunday. Chippa are rock bottom with eight points from 14 matches, a chance on paper for Chiefs to bank confidence and climb before the season pauses for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Sundowns stand firm in Algiers
While the Confederation Cup delivered late chaos in Polokwane, Sundowns’ Champions League assignment in Algeria was a different kind of examination. At the Ali La Pointe Stadium, Miguel Cardoso’s side earned a disciplined goalless draw with MC Alger, the sort of away point that can shape a group campaign without making headlines. It was not spectacular, but it was calculated and, in this competition, calculation carries value.
The match unfolded at a cautious tempo. Both teams prioritised shape over swagger through a cagey opening 20 minutes, with frequent stoppages and a stop start rhythm. Sundowns had to manage the temperature of the contest after bookings for Miguel Reisinho and Keanu Cupido before halftime, and they did so smartly, keeping the ball when possible and dropping into their structure when MC Alger looked to probe. It was a night for discipline.
There were still moments to win it. In the 25th minute, Marcelo Allende arced a teasing delivery into the area, finding Tashreeq Matthews in space, only for the chance to skid off the winger’s thigh and fly over with the goalkeeper exposed. Then, just before the break, MC Alger produced their best opening when a ball over the top caught Sundowns square, allowing Zinedine Ferhat to run through and attempt a lob that dropped narrowly over with Ronwen Williams stranded. In matches of inches, those were inches that could have decided it, one for Allende’s invention and one for Ferhat’s pace.
The second half mirrored the first. Neither side wished to over commit, and that suited the visitors, who view group stage away days through the lens of control. Sundowns remained compact, conceded little, and accepted that it might take only one flash to decide the game. The flash never came, but the point did, and in a tight Group C, that is precious. Initially, Sundowns sat top with four points after their 3-1 win over Saint Éloi Lupopo in the opener, and once Al Hilal drew 1-1 away to Lupopo, they stayed top on goal difference, level on four with the Sudanese club. The table rewards pragmatism.
Cardoso defends the plan and the bigger picture
The Sundowns head coach was unapologetic about the approach. In his view, the night was a small triumph of game intelligence and restraint, the right choices in a setting that often punishes the naive. The message was clear, flooding forward might satisfy the eye, but balance helps you return home with points and with your campaign intact. It was the logic of a coach who believes that in Africa, there is a time to attack and a time to hold the line, and in Algiers it was time to manage risk.
I understand the question regarding going hard in attack and trying to win but this is a competition where if you get a point away, you take two points away from the opponent.
We knew that if we went with a lot of numbers upfront, we could suffer from that because this team is very dangerous when they have spaces to use. So, not allowing spaces means attacking with balance which allows us to always manage the result of the game.
Cardoso also credited MC Alger for their defensive shape and explained how the match became a funnel to the wide areas, limiting his side’s attempts to reach the box with real threat. It was, in his words, a tactical contest that rewarded patience. In a separate reflection, he underlined the different demands of the Champions League compared to domestic football and applauded his players for executing the plan to the letter. The praise was specific, the coach framed Sundowns as a clever team.
They had the capacity to cope with our offensive game and they closed the middle by not allowing the ball to go to some of our players who are very important and forced us to go on the outside. We did not arrive in the box as many times as we wanted but it is also clear that MC Alger did not enter ours in order to score.
This team has high quality players upfront and any mistake can lead to a goal. In Champions League matches, it is very important to be very clever. I think Sundowns was a very clever team on the pitch. If you see the match on the stands, a game with goals would be more spectacular.
If we opened ourselves then maybe we could have scored more but we could suffer and at that moment, we would not have controlled the result. Sundowns did a good job and the players have to be congratulated because they controlled the match.
With focus pivoting back to the Betway Premiership and a midweek date with Siwelele FC at the Dr Molemela Stadium, Sundowns can pocket the point from Algiers and keep building. The broader lesson from Group C is simple, control the controllables, respect hostile environments, and take what the game gives you. For Cardoso, this week validated a commitment to balance.
Key takeaways from a tense weekend
- Chiefs found belief in adversity, rescuing a point through diligence and a late Solomons strike,
- Sundowns showed maturity in Algiers, preferring structure over spectacle,
- Group dynamics tightened, with Chiefs still chasing in Group D and Sundowns leading Group C on goal difference.
The human thread and the road ahead
Football weekends like this one are made of margins and mindsets. Chiefs were seconds from defeat, then lifted by a misjudged handling moment and by their own refusal to stop chasing. In the process, they gained a dressing room surge of belief, a coach’s affirmation of character, and a squad nudge from a debutant who might elevate their technical ceiling. Those are not small wins, and they can be powerful drivers.
Sundowns, miles away in Algiers, delivered a different kind of statement. It was cool headed, pragmatic, and trustworthy. They did not thrill, but they also did not blink. From Marcelo Allende’s craft to Ronwen Williams’ calm, through Miguel Reisinho and Keanu Cupido walking the disciplinary tightrope, this was a collective performance that accepted the game for what it was and refused to make the mistake that breaks it. The point is the proof, and the table says it matters. The pursuit of continental success is often a test of resilience.
As the calendar turns to domestic tasks for both clubs, the lessons are clear. Chiefs need to bottle the mentality that carried them through the final seconds and apply it against Chippa United and TS Galaxy. Sundowns need to keep trusting their blueprint, knowing that the Champions League is a marathon measured by small victories on difficult nights. Two South African stories, told in different tones, both pointing to campaigns alive with possibility.
