MC Alger coach Rulani Mokwena has admitted that his side is in a difficult group in CAF Champions League as they prepare to face Al Hilal SC in their first match of the group stage at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali on November 21. The two clubs are pooled in Group C alongside South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns and DR Congo’s St Eloi Lupopo. MC Alger arrived in Kigali on Wednesday morning, two days before taking on Al Hilal SC who will be hosting their group stage matches at Amahoro Stadium. It will be the first time Kigali hosts the CAF Champions League group stage matches. “It’s going to be very interesting, and it will be a very tough group, I think. But we are very excited about the opportunity to compete and to try to do better than last season, and that’s the main objective,” Mokwena told journalists during a press conference on Wednesday. MC Alger remain unbeaten this season and the South African coach believes they are in a good position to win their first leg clash against Al Hilal which kicks off at 3pm as the club looks to better last season’s performance when they reached the quarterfinals. “We are trying to perform better than last season. Reaching the quarterfinals last season was a great achievement but we want to do better this time around and everyone in the club—from management, coaching staff and players—are very ambitious,” he said. Mokwena insists his team will need to bring their A-game to stand a chance of progressing to the quarterfinals. “I know a lot of people talk a lot about this game, of course Al-Hilal, and I am quite sure that my players will be ready for the tough ahead of us.” Under Mokwena’s command, MC Alger has played eight matches, winning seven and drawing one, a run that currently places them at the top of the Algerian Ligue 1 table. The last time MC Alger played in Kigali was in 2018 during the CAF Confederation Cup group-stage match against Rayon Sports, where they secured a 2-1 victory at Kigali Pelé Stadium, then known simply as Kigali Stadium.
