“I thought before the red card we were very good, we scored, there were moments where we had 65% ball possession – here [at Stade Mohamed V],” he said after the match.
“I thought we were excellent actually, contrary to your statement. That’s why I give so much, so much praise to the players. They know it’s only half-time, so we keep our feet firmly on the ground.
“We’re still focussed on the second leg in Pretoria. We know that we will also have the ammunition also behind us, we will have a stadium that now knows how to play Champions League matches and push this team.
“So a lot of credit to them, credit to the technical team, who put in a lot of hard work in preparing for what is a difficult week.
“Congratulations to the football team, because the result under the circumstances feels like a victory but I’m the first to say that it’s only half-time.”
Sundowns are now scheduled to face Maritzburg United in their final DStv Premiership game on Tuesday, before hosting Wydad in the second leg of their CAF Champions League semi-final on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
