Themba Zwane scored a brace as Mamelodi Sundowns beat CR Belouizdad 5-1 at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Sunday in their CAF Champions League Group B tie.
The Algerian champions had to play most of the match with a man down after Chouhaib Keddad was shown a straight red card just three minutes into the match.
This was after he deliberately handled Zwane’s goal bound shot.
From the resultant penalty kick, Mamelodi Sundowns went a goal up with Zwane scoring.
The Algerian side equalised a minute before half-time through Amir Sayoud.
But Mamelodi Sundowns cleaned up the game in the second half with Zwane, Peter Shalulile, Lebohang Maboe and substitute Kermit Erasmus scoring.
The win makes it two victories in a row for the 2016 champions who have now gone to six points.
They opened a four-point buffer between them and second-placed TP Mazembe on top of Group B.
After opening the scores off the penalty kick spot in the third minute and with a numerical advantage, Mamelodi Sundowns were enjoying much of the possession, but did not do much in the final third.
Dennis Onyango was kept busy in the Mamelodi Sundowns goal and he had to do well to save a Youcef Bechou effort from the left after he raced to a through ball.
CR Belouizdad went to the break on level terms when Sayoud levelled matters in sublime fashion, racing to a through ball before dinking the ball beyond Onyango.
The Ugandan goalkeeper however had to be substituted before the second half started as he appeared to have picked up an ankle injury and in his place came Zambian Kennedy Mweene.
It only took Mamelodi Sundowns three minutes after the restart to re-take the lead when Shalulile leaped highest unmarked inside the box to head home a Lyle Lakay corner-kick.
Mamelodi Sundowns stretched their lead further seven minutes later with Zwane completing his brace.
A sweetly-chipped ball from Gaston Sirino in midfield picked out Zwane’s run inside the penalty box, with the forward simply touching the ball away from the advancing goalkeeper to make it 3-1.
Sirino should have made it 4-1 just two minutes later when some good build-up play from Mamelodi Sundowns saw him break into the penalty box, but the final shot went wide.
With their numerical advantage, Mamelodi Sundowns enjoyed passing the ball around the park, trying to stretch out Belouizdad who were forced to play on the backfoot.
Maboe added the fourth for them with a low finish inside the penalty box after substitute Erasmus set him up, after picking up Lakay’s cross from the right.
The forward then turned from provider to scorer with two minutes left, tapping in the fifth.
Mamelodi Sundowns’ high press saw them rob CR Belouizdad of the ball in their own area as they attempted to start the build-up from behind.
Zwane was fed with the ball on the left and he cut back for Erasmus who tapped home with ease.