Mamelodi Sundowns were held to a 2-2 draw by determined Al Hilal of Sudan during their action packed Champions League encounter in Pretoria on Friday night.
This is a disappointing result for the Brazilians as they dropped two crucial points at home that could have given them a three-point lead at the top of Group C.
They are tied on five points with Al Hilal after three matches and they are going to be under a lot of pressure to get back to winning ways when they visit them next week.
Sundowns scored their goals in either half from Arthur Sales and Teboho Mokoena while the visitors earned this share of the spoils from the brace by Abdelrazig Taha.
Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso showed confidence in teenage defender Thato Sibiya who made his debut in the 2-0 league over Orbit College earlier in the week.
An intense battle in Tshwane. Downs keep their focus as they head to Sudan next Friday. 🔥
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) January 23, 2026
Mamelodi Sundowns (21’ Sales, 64’ Mokoena) 2️⃣➖2️⃣ Al Hilal (15’, 71’ Omer) #Sundowns #TotalEnergiesCAFCL #AreyengMasandawana pic.twitter.com/CNu0keozim
Elsewhere, he went with tried and tested campaigners like Ronwen Williams, Grant Kekana, Khuliso Mudau, Marcelo Allende, Mokoena, Nuno Santos, Sales and Lebo Mothiba.
The first real attack of the match came from Santos, whose shot from outside the box was easily dealt with by Al Hilal goalkeeper Soufiane Ouedraogo after ten minutes.
Al Hilal opened the scoring after 15 minutes when Abdelrazig Taha beat Williams with a thunderous close range shot as they capitalised on a mistake by Mokoena and Santos who got on each other’s way.
Al Hilal’s lead did not stay for long as Sundowns responded with an equaliser after 22 minutes when Sales stayed on-side to beat Ouedraogo after he received a pass from the midfield.
Sundowns, who dominated most of the possession and chances in the first half, restarted with Colombian attacker Brayan León brought in to replace Mothiba.
Just after the hour mark, Sundowns missed an opportunity to take the lead when León was denied by Ouedraogo and Tashreeq Matthews ballooned the ball over the cross-bar.
They got it right after 64 minutes when Mokoena was picked by Matthews on the edge of the box, he controlled the ball before unleashing a powerful shot that gave Ouedraogo no chance.
Al Hilal equalised six minutes later when Taha punished the Sundowns defence that failed to clear the danger and that was enough to earn them a vital away point.
There was still a moment for drama left in the game as Malian referee Ousmane Diakate sent Emmanuel Flomo for an early shower in the closing stages for unsporting tackle on Mudau.
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