Mokwena, Mosimane & Ribeiro! The biggest winners and losers from the weekend’s action in the Carling Knockout and around the world

Mosimane, who recently penned a deal to manage Esteghlal until the end of the season with his technical team, had faced a challenging start, with his first three matches resulting in losses.

His tenure began with a disappointing 3-1 defeat against Kheybar FC, followed by a 2-0 setback against Tractor FC. The situation worsened with a heavy 3-0 loss to Al-Hilal, a team featuring the star player Neymar Jr., in the AFL Champions League.

However, Mosimane finally brought the losing run to an end as he masterminded a 1-0 triumph over Mes Rafsanjan FC in the Iran Pro League at the Shahre Qods Stadium on Saturday.

Mokwena is not having an ideal start to life in Morocco and his troubles continued over the weekend as his side failed to win once again.

Mokwena's Wydad and Ittihad Tanger played out to a 2-2 draw in Saturday’s Botola Pro League match held at Larbi Zaouli Stadium.

Saturday’s outcome prevented the Red Castle from securing two consecutive wins following their crucial 1-0 victory against FUS Rabat last Sunday.

Mokwena's team is currently in fifth place in the league standings, having won four games, drawn three, and lost just as many.

The former Downs coach will hope to inspire his side back to winning ways in their next match to ease some of the pressure that is beginning to build.

Mamelodi Sundowns’ star from Brazil has been a revelation for the club since joining at the beginning of last season.

He was once again on target for his side in their comfortable 2-0 win over Gallants in the CKO semi-finals on Sunday.

The attacker found the back of the net from the spot while Neo Maema’s goal added to the team’s tally to help them set a date with Magesi in the final.

Percy Tau, who is currently enduring a torrid period with Egyptian side Al Ahly, continues to find life difficult.

His struggles for game-time persisted last week as he could only manage to start from the bench for Al Ahly in their Egyptian Premier League clash against ZED FC.

The former Sundowns star’s unsettled stay at Al Ahly has seen him forfeit his place in South Africa’s national team.

Larsen has been working some miracles with the PSL newbies since their promotion and their most impressive showings have been in the CKO.

Larsen’s Magesi progressed to the CKO final on the back of a gutsy away performance, edging out Richards Bay 1-0 on Saturday.

This comes after they stunned ‘Cup Kings’ Orlando Pirates in the last round and now have another big hurdle in the final against final.

Larsen has been able to inspire his PSL rookies to go toe-to-toe with giants in the big time and the coach deserves plenty of credit.

Richards Bay’s Tlakusani Mthethwa was one of the biggest losers this weekend after he was given his marching orders in his side’s narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Magesi in the CKO semi-final.

Mthethwa, who is a key player in the middle of the park for the KwaZulu-Natal outfit, left his side in a spot of bother after he was shown a second yellow card for a reckless challenge, leaving his team to finish the match with ten men.

Although the damage was already done, with the winning goal coming in the 27th minute, Mthethwa’s 84th-minute sending-off only served to steepen the task for the Natal Rich Boyz.

The Sundowns coach endured a difficult start to his tenure as sole head coach after he took over the reins from Mokwena.

His side was less than convincing in MTN8 where they eventually fell short and many were not too optimistic heading into the season.

However, they appear to be coming good as they are in contention, as expected, for the PSL title and are now in the final of the CKO.

Mngqithi must take plenty of credit for helping his side turn the corner and turn their doubters into believers once again.

PSL

Mamelodi Sundowns

Sundowns to meet Magesi in CKO final