Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Pitso Mosimane insists he was proud of his charges, despite their 3-1 loss to LaLiga champions FC Barcelona.
Read: Classy Barca Sink Downs At FNB
The Catalan giants proved too strong for Sundowns on the night as they cliched victory in the Nelson Mandela Centenary Cup on Wednesday evening.
The Brazilians committed three costly mistakes that led to the goals for Barca, but Mosimane was not upset about his side playing from the back.
“I’m proud of Masandawana, they played well, they played the way I wanted them to play. They tried to play from the back as usual but they paid their school fees because they [Barcelona] put a lot of pressing traps, ”Mosimane told SuperSport after the match.
“It is good, it is right, I encourage them to play from the back. They must not be afraid. Bangaly [Soumahoro] made a mistake and they scored, Kekana made a mistake and they scored.
“Had Percy scored it could have been a different story and also “Langer” [Tebogo Langerman] but he decided to play it across, he could have shot.”
The former Bafana Bafana coach went on to say that the match was a good preparation for their CAF Champions League campaign, which continues in the second round of Group C matches next week.
“But I’m happy we played well we could find our passing patterns within Barcelona, we could regain the ball, we could also press them to get the ball," he added.
“It’s good preparations for us for next week in the CAF Champions League. We will never stop playing, we keep playing football. I’m happy for the team they did well. I’m proud of them.”