JOHANNESBURG, April 13, 2026 (Net) – Colombian Brayan Leon scored after 51 minutes to give 10-man Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa a surprise 1-0 win at Esperance of Tunisia on Sunday in a CAF Champions League semi-final first leg.
The 25-year-old, who joined the Pretoria club from Independiente Medellin three months ago, got be-tween two defenders to nod a Khuliso Mudau cross past goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said.
Leon has been a revelation since moving to Africa, claiming five goals in the South African Premiership and four in the Champions League.
It took a superb parry from Ben Said to prevent another Leon header entering the net at the start of the second half in Rades on the outskirts of Tunis.
Esperance thought they had equalised midway through the second half when Malian substitute Aboubacar Diakite nodded the ball into the net from close range.
However, a VAR review of the build-up revealed that Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams had been struck in the face by the elbow of Hamza Jelassi.
The goal was disallowed by the Algerian referee, who gave an outstanding performance in an electric atmosphere. Rades ranks among the most intimidating cauldrons in Africa.
Sundowns centre-back Grant Kekana was shown a straight red card with five minutes remaining after kicking Frenchman Florian Danho in the face.
Physically imposing Danho had come closest to scoring in a cagey opening half when his angled close-range shot struck the post.
It was an often scrappy first leg with Sundowns wasting time almost from the kick-off as they regularly changed the takers of corners, free-kicks and throw-ins.
They escaped censure, however, until the 73rd minute when Williams was yellow-carded after taking too long to take a free-kick.
The return match is set for Saturday in Pretoria with Sundowns seeking to reach successive Champions League finals after losing to Pyramids of Egypt last season.
In the other first leg, second-half goals from Ahmed Hammoudan and Khalid Ait Ouarkhane gave FAR Rabat a 2-0 win over Renaissance Berkane in an all-Moroccan clash on Saturday.
