Former Mamelodi Sundowns star Papi Mbele says the DStv Premiership defending champions were outthought by their CAF Champions League rivals Esperance on Friday.
Masandawana lost the second leg of the Champions League semi-final at home by 1-0, a result that saw them being eliminated from the prestigious competition, meaning they will now have to try again next season.
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"They did well Sundowns, from the first minute they wanted to score a goal, but unfortunately Esperance are very solid at the back," Mbele assessed, speaking to KickOff.
"I knew Esperance had what it takes to beat Sundowns because they are relevant to Sundowns in terms of acquiring players in Europe and South America.
"Esperance played on the counter-attack. With them scoring first on Friday, it was always going to be difficult for Sundowns to come back and score three goals," he added.
Mbele also defended Rulani Mokwena for starting the club's star Themba Zwane on the bench.
"Themba Zwane's age is against him, it was not a bad decision to leave him out because he knew in the second half he was gonna come up with huge impact. He is getting old.
"Rulani knew Esperance was going to put too much focus on Themba Zwane, it would have been easy for Esperance.
"It's just that Esperance was good. They [Sundowns] were better than Esperance, especially in the first leg.
"To be honest, they out-thought Sundowns, they came to South Africa with a plan.
"They stayed at the back and counter-attacked Sundowns. As long as their opponents played in front of them, Esperance were happy.
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"Sundowns are good in counter-attacking, building from the back, they are good with possession play, but on Friday there was none of that.
"The Esperance team knew exactly what Sundowns are capable of."
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