Defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns have crashed out of the CAF Champions League after a 1-1 draw against Angola’s Wiliete on Friday.

The South African champions exited in the second preliminary round on away goals after the teams drew 0-0 in Angola last weekend.

The result ended Sundowns’ hopes of defending the title they won in May. It also marked their first failure to reach the Champions League group stage since 2015.

Wiliete, meanwhile, secured their first-ever appearance in the group stage of Africa’s premier club competition.

Sundowns entered the return leg at Loftus Versfeld as favourites and took the lead after just 11 minutes.

Tashreeq Matthews opened the scoring with a deflected effort from outside the penalty area, putting Miguel Cardoso’s side ahead in the tie.

Wiliete threatened an equaliser midway through the first half, but goalkeeper Ronwen Williams denied Gilberto’s header.

The visitors eventually found their breakthrough four minutes after the restart.

Former Egyptian Premier League striker Mabululu capitalised on a misplaced back-pass from Cassius Mailula. The Angolan forward then beat Williams to level the score at 1-1.

With the away-goals rule now favouring Wiliete, Sundowns needed another goal to progress. However, Wiliete held firm to secure a historic qualification and send the reigning champions out before the group stage.

Mabululu spent several seasons with Al Ittihad Alexandria, finishing as the Egyptian Premier League’s leading scorer in 2022/23 with 16 goals.

The Angola international scored 41 goals in 83 appearances during his earlier spell with the Alexandrian club.

He subsequently moved to Libya’s Al Ahli Tripoli in 2024.

The defeat represents Sundowns’ earliest Champions League exit in more than a decade.

The South African side had reached the group stage in each of the previous 11 editions. They last failed to qualify in 2015, when DR Congo’s TP Mazembe eliminated them.

Mamelodi Sundowns are also the first reigning African champions to fall before the group stage since TP Mazembe in 2016.

Wiliete, a club founded in 2018, advanced to the group stage alongside South Africa’s Orlando Pirates.

The Pirates defeated Namibia’s African Stars 4-0 on Friday to complete a 5-0 aggregate victory, leaving them as South Africa’s sole representatives in this season’s Champions League group stage.