Mamelodi Sundowns are on the verge of being crowned kings of African club football, after playing Zamalek off the field for an emphatic 3-0 victory in Saturday’s first leg of the 2016 Caf Champions League final at Lucas Moripe Stadium.

It was not just the emphatic scoreline, but the gulf in class of the two teams’ performances, that make it an extremely unlikely possibility – as long as Downs keep calm and play sensible football – that Zamalek can come back from this defeat in the second leg in Alexandria next weekend Sunday.

Anthony Laffor has played his role as a super-sub. In recent weeks, apparently stung by claims by his coach that the “difficult” Liberian can waste substitute options with ineffective performances when starting, Laffor laid a claim for a starting place – especially when he scored in the fifth minute of Downs’ semifinal second leg against Zambians Zesco United.

Influential as the in-form big man has been for Downs in the past six weeks – also setting up the crucial away goal against Zesco - he muddied the waters on whether he should start on Saturday by having to be substituted at half time in Downs’ 3-0 MTN8 final shock by Bidvest Wits two weeks ago.

Mosimane, though, went with his instincts and gave a run from the first whistle to his forward for the big occasion. Laffor did not disappoint, smashing in the 32nd-minute first-half goal Downs so crucially needed to take the pressure off.

Goals from Tebogo Langerman (40th) – perhaps fortunately from what appeared an attempted cross – then an own goal under immense pressure in the 46th by centreback Eslam Hamed.

Zamalek have had similar, or even worse, limitations to their squad as Sundowns caused by player movements during their change in seasons and arrived with 14 in-field players available.

But that should not detract from the masterful performance of what – perhaps not now, but once they inevitably wrap up the final in Alexandria next week Sunday, might just be the best team seen since the beginning of the Premier Soccer League era in South Africa in 1996.

In a week they will be the first PSL team to be crowned African champions – in 1995 Pirates did it in the old National Soccer League era, in the old Champions Cup format. So it becomes hard to argue against that assertion.

Sundowns will have won many admirers across the continent for the football they have displayed in this Champions League. It has been relentlessly beautiful, and beautifully brutal.

They play South African football – helped by some key foreigners such as Laffor and Billiat – at its absolute best.

They played about as close to a perfect first half on Saturday as they could have asked for.

Downs came out spreading the ball, squeezing out the skill, and muscling the advantage in search of an early goal.

The Brazilians paced themselves too. They did not put all their eggs in an early goal basket. But when Laffor, Khama Billiat, Keagan Dolly and Percy Tau (the “CBLT” in the absence of the Leonardo-Castro-less “CBD”) turned things on in attack Zamalek’s defensive structure had little answer.

When you’re attempting to establish a dominance of a team, and emphatic opening goal does not go out of place. Laffor certainly provided it.

Big midfield man Hlompo Kekana’s deftest of passes through the middle found the Liberian a foot past the defence but played onside to turn and strike thunderously into the roof of goalkeeper Ahmed Elshenawy’s net.

Downs had needed a goal in the first half to take the pressure off. When a second with an element of fortune came five minutes before the break, they accepted it gratefully.

Full-back Langerman floated in what looked like a cross from left midfield, and which dipped in over Elshenawy’s head too perfectly to have possibly been intended as a strike at goal. Langerman will claim it.

Downs went immediately on attack at the start of the second half and 53 seconds in Tau’s low ball across goal was turned into his own net by under-pressure Hamed.

- TMG Digital