AmaZulu head coach Pablo Franco Martin labelled Mamelodi Sundowns the best team in Africa after their 3-0 defeat on Tuesday evening.
A hat-trick from Lucas Costa Riberio guided the Brazilians to a convincing victory at Loftus Versfeld.
The AmaZulu tactician feels the quality from Sundowns was the difference on the day after they missed big chances in the first half.
Read: Ribeiro Nets Hat-Trick As Downs Open 12-Point Lead
"Well, not only in the second half, I think in the first-half, corner kicks, wide, deep passes we created several chances, in the first half we were much more competitive, the second half we were starting better on the ball," Martin told SuperSport TV.
"But the first chance they had from one of our counter presses, we gave them more spaces, we know the quality of those guys, from there within five minutes we conceded the second goal, with the substitutions we dominated a little bit the game.
"But at the end of the day this is a matter of quality, we're playing against the best team, in my opinion, in Africa, so congratulations to them, they were better and now our final is Moroka Swallows next Tuesday and we have to prepare.
"If we take the positive things, the way we competed in the first-half, the situations where we were more comfortable on the ball, when we got rid of that pressure and we tried to play our football, I think this is something that can help us to grow a little bit more," he said.
"We don't do the same mistakes we used to do before the break but anyway I think this team can still compete, we're going to keep on improving for sure, for that we need stability, not only on the field but off the field. Hopefully we get back to good results next Tuesday."
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
