CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Duro Ikhazuagbe

Nigeria’s Rivers United began their CAF Champions League group stage campaign with a 3-0 defeat against Egypt’s Pyramids in Cairo on Saturday night.

Pyramids’ Ahmed Atef scored all three goals in the second half after Rivers United battled the hosts to a barren result in the first half.

Atef however fired Pyramids to the front in the 52nd minute and added a second five minutes later. He completed his hat trick with the third goal in the 72nd minute to seal all three points for the defending champions.

Elsewhere, Mamelodi Sundowns and Young Africans both opened their CAF Champions League group stage campaigns with home victories on Saturday.

Sundowns, semi-finalists last season and widely seen as Group C favourites, recovered from a brief scare to defeat DR Congo’s St Éloi Lupopo 3-1 in Pretoria. Nuno Santos was the hero for the home side as he scored a brace to seal the comfortable victory in the tricky tie.

The South African side struck early through Santos, who finished off a clever move from Miguel Reisinho after just five minutes.

Lupopo weathered the early storm and were rewarded shortly before half-time when Wanet Kashala equalised, capitalising on a loose defensive moment to silence the home crowd.

But the second half belonged entirely to Sundowns.

Marcelo Allende restored the lead with a composed finish on 61 minutes, again combining with the influential Santos.

Substitute Arthur Sales then made an immediate impact, providing the assist for Santos to claim his brace in the 77th minute and seal a deserved victory.

In Dar es Salaam, Young Africans edged Moroccan giants FAR Rabat 1-0 in a tight Group B encounter played at a neutral venue, with the Tanzanian champions relying on discipline and efficiency.

After a cagey first half, Yanga found the breakthrough in the 58th minute when Prince Dube reacted quickest inside the box to steer home the winner.

Both results underline Sundowns’ and Yanga’s intention to challenge strongly in this year’s campaign.