MATCH FACTS: Pyramids, Sundowns primed for second leg of TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Final
Pyramids FC from Egypt will host Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in the second leg of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League 2024–25 Final on Sunday, 1 June at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo (kick-off 20:00 local time (17:00 GMT).
This will be the 61st final across both eras of the tournament and the 29th since the rebranding to the Champions League in 1997.
Following a 1-1 draw in the first leg on 24 May at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, where Lucas Ribeiro Costa gave Sundowns the lead in the 54th minute before Walid El Karti equalized in stoppage time for Pyramids.
Pyramids will be crowned champions with a win or a 0-0 draw. Sundowns will lift the trophy with a win or a draw of 2-2 or higher. A 1-1 result will take the tie to penalties.
This is the fourth meeting between the two clubs. They also faced each other in the 2023/24 group stage, drawing 0-0 in Pretoria before Sundowns won 1-0 in Cairo thanks to a goal by Teboho Mokoena. Sundowns topped Group A while Pyramids finished bottom.
Pyramids are hosting a South African club in the Champions League for the third time, having previously beaten Orlando Pirates 3-2 in this season’s semi-final second leg after a goalless first leg in Johannesburg.
Historically, this will be the fifth Champions League final between Egyptian and South African clubs. Egyptian sides have won three of the previous four.
The first Egypt–South Africa final came in 2001, when Al Ahly defeated Sundowns 4-1 on aggregate. In 2013, Al Ahly again triumphed over a South African side, beating Orlando Pirates 3-1 over two legs.
Sundowns are the only South African team to win a Champions League final tie against Egyptian opposition, beating Zamalek 3-1 on aggregate in 2016. The most recent meeting before this season was Al Ahly’s 3-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs in the 2020/21 final.
South African teams have never overcome a draw at home in the first leg against Egyptian opposition. Both Sundowns in 2001 and Pirates in 2013 drew their home legs against Al Ahly and went on to lose the away leg.
In four two-legged finals where a South African club failed to win the first leg at home, only once has a comeback been achieved – Pirates in 1995 drew 2-2 at home with ASEC Mimosas before winning 1-0 away.
Egyptian clubs have won all three previous home games against South African sides in Champions League finals.
Overall, Egyptian and South African clubs have clashed in eight Champions League final matches (including two-legged ties), with Egypt claiming four wins, South Africa one, and three draws.
Pyramids are bidding to become Egypt’s fourth different winner in the tournament’s history, following Al Ahly, Zamalek, and Ismaily.
That would make Egypt the first country to have four different winners of the competition. Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia currently each have three. In the Champions League era alone, a win for Pyramids would give Egypt three different winners – more than any other country.
Ten previous finals have been decided on penalties, most recently in 2004 when Enyimba beat Etoile Sahel.
In the Champions League era, penalty shootouts settled three finals: Raja CA in 1997 and 1999, and Enyimba in 2004.
Egyptian clubs have twice won finals on penalties, both by Zamalek in 1993 and 1996. A South African club has never contested a final that went to penalties.
PYRAMIDS FACTS
· Pyramids are aiming to become the first new winner of the tournament since Sundowns in 2016, the 13th different champion in the Champions League era, and the 27th overall.
· Their appearance marks the 19th time an Egyptian club features in a Champions League-era final, with previous clubs claiming 11 titles (Al Ahly 10, Zamalek 1).
· Including both eras, this is the 29th final involving an Egyptian club, with a record of 18 wins and 10 losses.
· Pyramids have played just one of their last nine matches at home – a 3-2 win over Pirates in April. All five of their May fixtures were away (W2 D1 L2). Despite the travel, they are unbeaten in their last 23 home games this season (W19 D4), and in their last 28 overall (W24 D4), dating back to a 1-0 loss to Al Ahly in July 2024. That is their only home defeat in 43 matches.
· Pyramids have scored in 22 of their 23 home games this season in all competitions, with the only blank a 0-0 draw against Al Masry.
· In the Champions League this season, they’ve won all seven home games, scoring 26 and conceding six, keeping just one clean sheet (6-0 vs. Djoliba). Across their two participations in the competition, they’ve lost only one of 11 home games – against Sundowns last season – and drawn one other (2-2 vs. Nouadhibhou). They’ve scored in 10 of those 11 matches.
· Fiston Mayele leads Pyramids in scoring this season with eight goals from 12 appearances, including five since the group stage. Ibrahim Adel follows with six goals, also five from the group stage onward.
· Ramadan Sobhi has provided five assists in nine appearances, joint-most in the competition alongside Abderrahmane Meziane of CR Belouizdad. Sobhi has seven total goal contributions, including two goals, all from the group stage onward. He has come off the bench twice with immediate impact – assisting a 90th-minute equalizer against Esperance in the group stage, and scoring a minute after coming on against Pirates in the semi-final second leg.
· Askary Chibi has created 20 chances from the group stage onward, the most of any Pyramids player. While they’ve kept just three clean sheets this campaign – all away – Pyramids remain formidable at home.
· Walid El Karti’s goal in the first leg was his second in 11 appearances this season. Mohanad Lasheen, who assisted El Karti, has two assists in the campaign.
MAMELODI SUNDOWNS FACTS
· Mamelodi Sundowns are competing in their third Champions League final, after appearances in 2001 and 2016.
· They are the first South African club to reach three finals, surpassing Orlando Pirates’ two (1995, 2013). In all three appearances, Sundowns hosted the first leg. In 2001, they drew 1-1 with Al Ahly and lost 2-0 away.
· In 2016, they beat Zamalek 3-0 at home but lost 1-0 away – winning 3-1 on aggregate.
· Sundowns have never scored in an away leg of a Champions League final, conceding five goals across the two previous second legs. The first leg of this final marked the second time they led at home and failed to win, as also happened in 2001.
· A loss would make Sundowns the first South African team to lose two Champions League finals.
· However, they are unbeaten in their last 10 matches against Egyptian clubs (W4 D6), and have not lost in their last four visits to Egypt (W2 D2).
· They are also undefeated in their last nine games across all competitions (W6 D3), with their last defeat coming against Kaizer Chiefs in a domestic cup semi-final on April 13.
· Sundowns went six consecutive games without conceding before the 1-1 draw in the first leg. On the road in this season’s Champions League, they have played six matches, winning two, drawing three, and losing once (1-0 to Raja CA).
· Coach Miguel Cardoso is the second manager to lead different clubs to consecutive Champions League finals, after Oscar Fullone (ASEC 1998, Raja 1999).
· Cardoso reached the final with Esperance last season, losing to Al Ahly, and is still seeking his first win in any leg of a final.
· A Sundowns win would make them the first team since Al Ahly in 2012 to lift the trophy after failing to win the home leg of the final.
· Since 2012, five clubs have drawn or lost their home first legs and failed to win the title, including Wydad in 2019.
· Lucas Ribeiro Costa’s goal in the first leg was his 20th of the season in all competitions and third in the Champions League. It was also his first goal in the tournament from the group stage onward. He has created 20 chances in that phase, the most of any Sundowns player.
· In the first leg, Grant Kekana completed 50 passes with a 90.9% accuracy rate – the highest for any player attempting 50 or more passes.