Brazilian Ribeiro scores twice in big Sundowns victory
Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro scored twice as perennial CAF Champions League title contenders Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa trounced Bumamuru of Burundi 4-0 in a last-32 qualifier on Friday.
The South American struck twice, with one of his goals coming from a penalty, before Lesiba Nku netted to give the away side a three-goal half-time advantage.
Namibian Peter Shalulile came off the bench to complete the first-leg rout by scoring with 11 minutes of regular time remaining.
Ribeiro has made an immediate impact at Sundowns since joining the Pretoria club from Belgian outfit SK Beveren in mid-2023.
His four goals for the 13-time South African champions have made him the leading scorer in the national league after six rounds.
Sundowns won the Champions League for the first time in 2016 and have reached the knockout stage in six of the seven subsequent editions.
Provincial club Bumamuru were disadvantaged by having to host the match in Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian commercial capital, because there is no international-standard stadium in Burundi.
Sundowns had a bye in the preliminary round last month while Bumamuru defeated fellow Champions League debutants CS Bendje of Gabon 6-2 on aggregate.
