The first leg had ended 1-1 at a packed Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, with Lucas Ribeiro giving the South Africans the lead before Walid El Karti struck late to earn Pyramids a vital away goal.
Pyramids scored the opener in the 23rd minute when Fiston Mayele capitalised on a defensive mistake to fire home before defender Ahmed Samy scored from a powerful header to make it 2-0. Iqraam Rayners pulled a goal back for Sundowns in the 75th minute but it was not enough as Pyramids held on to triumph 3-2 on aggregate.
Sundowns went into the game seeking to reclaim African club football’s biggest prize having won it in 2016 when they defeated Zamalek of Egypt 3-0 in the first leg and losing the return 1-0, as well as finishing as runner-up in 2001, after being beaten by Al Ahly, drawing the first leg 1-1 and losing the return leg final 3-0.
Mayele grabs opener for Pyramids after Kekana mistake
Sundowns were buoyed by the fact that they had already retained their South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) title after finishing the season with 73 points, 12 ahead of second-placed and rivals Orlando Pirates while Pyramids finished second in the Egyptian Premier League with 56 points, two behind Al Ahly and nine ahead of Zamalek.
Led by Portuguese coach Miguel Cardosso, the Brazilians were desperate to end a nearly decade-long wait for continental silverware, and they started off the brightest side despite playing away from home.
Brazilian forward Lucas Ribeiro, who had scored in the first leg final, almost found the back of the net with only four minutes played when he arrived unmarked in Pyramids’ danger zone, but he hit a powerful shot from a distance, sending the ball over the bar.
Four minutes later, it was Pyramids’ turn for their first chance of the game, after Ahmed Atef was set through by Mohanad Lasheen, but he sent his effort inches wide. Sundowns responded immediately when Rayners initiated a counter attack after receiving the ball at the middle of play, but his final decision was poor as Pyramids goalkeeper Ahmed El Shenawy came out of line to clear the danger.
After a good share of missed opportunities for both sides, it was Pyramids, who took the lead against the run of play when Congolese striker Mayele punished some absolutely shocking defending from Sundowns defender Grant Kekana.
From a cross into the area, Kekana made a mistake when cutting the ball, which fell to Mayele, and the former Young Africans (Yanga SC) of Tanzania striker hit it hard into the right corner, giving Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams no chance to react and make a save.
After the goal, Pyramids’ Atef was shown a yellow card. He was heavily fouled by Sundowns defender Aubrey Modiba and caused a scuffle, in which Modiba also received a yellow card, the first two in the Champions League final.
Pyramids had to thank El Shenawy for keeping the scores 1-0 in their favour after the enterprising 34-year-old custodian was forced to make a superb save to deny Ribeiro’s pin-point header in the 32nd minute. The game was stopped in the 36th minute for three treatments.
The first was for Mayele, after he was fouled in the middle of the field and then for El-Shenawy, who was in pain after making the last save to deny Ribeiro. And finally for Mohamed Chibi, who was in pain after being tackled from behind.
After all the three players had resumed play, Pyramids won a corner in the 40th minute, which was delivered by Chibi, and the ball found Mahmoud Marei at the far post. He rose highest to power home a header towards goal, but Williams dived the right way to palm the ball, which was on target, away.
There was seven minutes off added time but Pyramids held on to go into the half-time break with 2-1 aggregate advantage against a Sundowns side who have been one of the most dominant sides in African football over the past decade, consistently reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League and winning the CAF Super Cup in 2017.
Ahmed Samys hits second from powerful free header
Sundowns started the second period with Cardoso pulling out Modiba, who was already booked, for Divine Lunga. However, it was Pyramids who doubled their lead following a sumptuous free header from defender Samy.
A free-kick from the right side after Atef had been brought down by Lunga, was delivered by Chibi, and found Samy unmarked.
He made no mistake after powering home a diving bullet header past Williams to the right bottom corner of the net. Sensing danger, Cardoso went for a triple change in the 64th minute in a bid to rescue the game from slipping away.
Namibia forward Peter Shalulile, Thapelo Morena and Brazilian Arthur de Oliveira Sales were introduced for Tashreeq Matthews, Mosa Lebusa and Jayden Adams. The new faces injected a different dimension into Sundowns’ style of play and they were rewarded when Rayners reduced the deficit, pouncing onto a poorly cleared ball to hit the back of the net.
Lebo Mothiba was brought in for goal scorer Rayners in the 78th minute while Pyramids made their first change when Ibrahim Adel came in for Ramadan Sobhi. Knowing that another goal for Sundowns will be enough to hand them the trophy on the away goals rule, Pyramids decided to sit back and defend every ball from the South African side.
Pyramids managed to see off the remaining 10 minutes of added time to celebrate success at the final whistle, denying Sundowns a chance to become just the fourth team in the Champions League era to win the title more than once, after teams likes Al Ahly, TP Mazembe, and Espérance Sportive de Tunis.