Coach Jose Riveiro adamant Orlando Pirates have 'no excuse' for not beating Percy Tau's Al Ahly in Caf Champions League outing

Last weekend, Orlando Pirates suffered their first defeat in the 2024-25 Premier Soccer League fixture staged at the Orlando Stadium.

Devin Titus scored the only goal for Stellenbosch FC in the first half to break the Buccaneers' hearts.

It was an unwelcome result for the Soweto giants ahead of Saturday's Caf Champions League outing at home.

Bucs beat CR Belouizdad 2-1 in their first Group C game staged in Algeria.

Defending Champions Percy Tau's Al Ahly claimed a 4-2 victory against Stade d'Abidjan to go top of the pool.

The Egyptians are favourites to top the table, but coach Jose Riveiro insists Ahly will not find it easy in Mzansi.

He argues his team has had enough time to prepare for the game, and that they will have no excuse for not silencing the visitors.

“In this period, it’s a luxury to have four days, plus recovery, we have five days, to prepare for the game as well as possible, obviously if we look now at the next game, it’s going to be something else,” the Spaniard opened up ahead of the game.

“We are going to be tested in a very high level and we will face the week with good attitude, and motivation, with the intention to offer a good performance on Saturday here against Al Ahly.

“Having those days with the possibility to rest, I think it’s giving an extra [chance] to make sure that there are no excuses, that on Saturday we can be at the level the competition requires and the [questions] opponent will ask," Riveiro concluded.

After successfully defending their MTN8 crown earlier in the season, Pirates believe they can win the PSL and the Caf Champions League.

However, they will have to prove that on the pitch by beating other rivals.