Namibian forward Peter Shalulile scored the only goal after 54 minutes, firing past goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said from close range at Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria.

Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro set up the match-winner with a long diagonal pass into the goalmouth that Jayden Adams nodded into the path of veteran Shalulile.

After a cagey affair that produced few scoring opportunities, rival supporters clashed in the stands for several minutes. Medical officials said they treated some fans for minor injuries.

"I was told that rival supporters threw plastic bottles of water at each other and there were scuffles. We treated some cuts and bruises, but nothing serious," a medic told AFP.

As a disappointing match drew to a close, Sundowns' Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso ran onto the pitch to pull several of his players away from opponents after a South African was fouled.

"Hard work lies ahead of us," said Cardoso, referring to the return match in Rades on the outskirts of Tunis on April 8th. "We lost our way after taking the lead. Our goal delighted me, especially the way we switched play from one side of the pitch to the other.

"I want to assure Sundowns supporters that we are not travelling to Tunisia to defend. We are going there to score and win the second leg."

Then Esperance coach Cardoso plotted the downfall of Sundowns in the Champions League semi-finals last season, with the Tunisian outfit winning both legs 1-0.

Packed defence

Esperance defended en masse until the closing stages and did not have a single goal attempt on target despite boasting the leading Champions League scorer in seven-goal Youcef Belaili.

The closest they came to threatening Sundowns was midway through the second half when Nigerian Onuche Ogbelu had a close-range shot courageously blocked by Argentinian Lucas Suarez.

Former Tunisia star Maher Kanzari began against Sundowns a third stint as Esperance coach after Romanian Laurentiu Reghecampf was sacked for unsatisfactory domestic results.

Orlando Pirates completed a South African double by winning 1-0 away to Mouloudia Alger of Algeria, with substitute Mohau Nkota snatching the 65th-minute winner against the run of play.

Nkota burst down the middle and slid the ball past advancing goalkeeper Abdelatif Ramdane, who was a virtual spectator for the rest of a match watched by a sell-out 50,000 crowd in Algiers.

Mouloudia thought they had levelled soon after through captain Ayoub Abdellaoui, but the goal was disallowed for a foul on Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine.

The Pirates shot-stopper had repeatedly defied the hosts in the first half as they maintained their dominance over Algerian sides, having beaten Chabab Belouizdad twice in the group phase.

In Cairo, there were contrasting winning margins for Egyptian clubs with Pyramids thumping FAR Rabat of Morocco 4-1 while title-holders Al Ahly pipped Al Hilal of Sudan 1-0.

Fiston Mayele and Ibrahim Adel scored two goals each for Pyramids, who punished some reckless defending by the Moroccans.

A brilliant volleyed goal from defender Mohamed Hany on 11 minutes separated Ahly and Hilal, who will host the return match in Libya due to the Sudanese civil war.

P. Shalulile

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