Cardoso says clash against Al-Hilal is about small margins

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso says their Champions League clash against Al-Hilal of Sudan at Loftus on Friday (8pm) will be about taking care of the small details.

The Brazilians go into this match leading Group C with four points from two matches, and three more points will bring them closer to progressing to the knockout stage.

The group is interesting because Al-Hilal are also on four points after two matches, but there is pressure from MC Alger and Saint-Éloi Lupopo in third and fourth positions, respectively.

“It is going to be a football match of details, and we have to pay attention so that we are successful,” said Cardoso, while stressing they are up against a well-organised team.

“We have great competition ahead of us, and we are happy to be back in the Champions League. Nothing will be decided in this match, and we have big respect for the Al Hilal team.

“It is a team with a lot of resources, and you can see by how many players they have in the national team. We know the responsibility of this match, we know how they play, and we know what we have to do.

“We know what we want, our capacity and how we must approach the match. We need to have a high level of motivation, power, energy and commitment to be able to succeed.”

Denis Onyango added they must get all three points at home.

“(There) is still a long way to go in the tournament, but the most important thing is to win our home match. In the Champions League, with 10 to 11 points, you are guaranteed qualification to the knockout stages.

“The boys know the task ahead is going to be difficult against a strong team that most of their players were at Afcon. They know each other well, but we know what to do at home.

“We are at Loftus, and we just need to make use of home-ground advantage and make sure the team gets closer to getting to the knockout stages.”

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