Johannesburg — A video of Mamelodi Sundowns captain Andile Jali being skinned by Orlando Pirates' winger Monnapule Saleng has been making the rounds on social media.
Sundowns and Pirates met in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-finals in Orlando on Saturday. And the two teams produced an entertaining 0-0 draw.
What Monnapule Saleng did to Andile Jali was cruel, Satafrika 🇿🇦#UpTheBucs #OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/BZJXC5rGmA
— Carlito Lenyora (@CarlitoLenyora) October 2, 2022
During the unforgettable match the 32-year-old Jali had a moment he’d rather erase from his memory after he was dribbled by Saleng with a lovely skill, leading him to roll over with his back on the pitch.
Jali was unceremoniously substituted in the early stages of the second stanza and replaced by Bongani Zungu despite having put in a decent shift in the midfield.
Co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi explained their decision to take off the MTN8 Last Man Standing, saying it was purely to add more numbers going forward.
“We just wanted to inject a little bit of intensity and improve the speed of the game,” Mnngqithi said in his press conference in the bowels of Orlando.
“If you check our stats of the second half, there was a big improvement in our incision, passing game, number of vertical passes in our game and all of that.
“But he played very well. And he had very good moments in our build up. But it was solely because we wanted to improve the intensity of the team."
The Brazilians and Buccaneers will meet in the second leg of the semi-finals in Polokwane later this month.
IOL Sport