Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rhulani Mokwena shared some advice he got from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in November 2018 after his side’s 2-1 CAF Champions League quarterfinal first-leg defeat to Petro de Luanda on Saturday evening.
Sundowns took an early sixth-minute lead through Lyle Lakay but PPetro rallied back through goals later on in the first-half from from Tiago Azulao and Yano.
The Brazilians are still very much in it with a crucial away goal and the second leg to be played in front of the Masandawana faithful.
Mokwena was philosophical after the loss, quoting what Klopp told him – that ‘if you want to succeed in football, lose the right match’.
“We play every match to win,” Mokwena said as quoted by iDiskiTimes.
“We came here to try to win, disappointed in the first half, lacking aggression, lacking focus.
“But we showed that we’re much better than our first-half performance in the second half, created more goal opportunities, had more final-third entries, controlled the game a bit more.
“Dominated the field a little bit more but pressing the line a bit higher.
“But I’m reminded of something Jurgen Klopp actually told me when I visited Melwood. I never thought I’d use it because I’m a coach that wants to win every single match. In football either win, lose or draw, you have all those possibilities every time a match starts.
“Jurgen Klopp said me, ‘coach, if you want to succeed in football, lose the right match’. And I think we lost the right match because it doesn’t knock us out, we still have a chance to make it,” Mokwena concluded.
Meanwhile, DStv Premiership champions-elect are now looking ahead to the second at the FNB Stadium this coming Saturday.
