Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) champions Remo Stars suffered a crushing 5–1 home defeat to South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg of their CAF Champions League qualification tie at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, on Sunday.
The Brazilians of South Africa showed their class and continental pedigree from the onset, completely outplaying the Nigerian champions in front of their home supporters and all but sealing qualification to the Champions League even before the return leg in Pretoria.
It took just minutes for the visitors to stamp their authority as Tashreeq Matthews finished off a slick team move to open the scoring. On the brink of halftime, goalkeeper Ronwen Williams turned provider with a long ball that found Peter Shalulile, who made no mistake to double Sundowns’ advantage.
The second half brought no respite for Remo Stars. Miguel Reisinho extended the lead in the 61st minute, before Arthur Sales added a fourth in the 75th minute, underlining Sundowns’ total control of the encounter.
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Remo Stars pulled one back through Samson Olasupo in the 77th minute, offering a brief moment of relief to the home crowd, but the joy was short-lived as former FC Dallas midfielder Tsiki Ntsabeleng capped off the rout with an 85th-minute strike to make it 5–1.
The result leaves Remo Stars with a mountain to climb ahead of the second leg scheduled for October 26 at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. The Nigerian champions will need a miraculous performance to overturn the heavy deficit and keep their Champions League dreams alive.
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