Mosimane after Sundowns beat Morocco's Wydad: 'I know how to play against them'

Mamelodi Sundowns have studied the opposition over the years and coach Pitso Mosimane says they now know how to beat their hugely experienced North African rivals in the Caf Champions League.

Sundowns beat Morocco's Wydad Casablanca 1-0 in Pretoria on Saturday to finish top place in the group stages and progress to the quarterfinals without losing a game since the start of the preliminary stages.

“Now we know how to play Champions League football‚" Mosimane said.

"The most important thing is to understand how to play against the North Africans because they have been dominant in club football on the continent for a very long time.

"I know how to play against them.

“We are growing slowly with experience‚ we understand the tournament a little bit more now and we are no longer naïve.

"Before we were just going in with the energy and wanted to win easily or at all cost‚ but we have paid our school fees.

"The title or the semifinalists are mostly in North Africa and history says that most of the teams that have won the Champions League are North Africans.”

Mosimane said they come to understand the culture and the mentality of the North Africans after playing against them numerous times over the years.

“What is important for us was to understand the culture and mentality of the way they play‚" he said.

"We have gathered experience and we know how to play against North Africans.

"We have played against Esperance‚ Al Ahly‚ Zamalek‚ Wydad Casablanca‚ Etoile du Sahel‚ Raja Casablanca and USM Alger‚ and the results have been good.

"This means we understand the mentality of playing against them.”