Foot-Africa Exclusive - Khaled Lemmouchia after USMA's triumph over Mamelodi Sundowns: "We could have won by a bigger margin"

Lamine N'Diaye's assistant explains the victory in Pretoria and reveals the Red and Blacks' main objective

Africa Today at 10:43

Add Foot Africa on Google

Foot-Africa Exclusive - Khaled Lemmouchia after USMA's triumph over Mamelodi Sundowns: "We could have won by a bigger margin"

08.11.26 FT CAF Super Cup

Mamelodi Sundowns FC

USM Alger

After USM Alger beat Mamelodi Sundowns 3-1 away from home to lift the CAF Super Cup, assistant coach Khaled Lemmouchia spoke exclusively to Foot-Africa about the match and the club's ambitions.

USM Alger have added a fourth continental trophy to their collection, bringing another African honour to Algerian football. Speaking exclusively to Foot-Africa after the win in Pretoria, Khaled Lemmouchia, assistant coach to Lamine N’Diaye, explained how the staff approached the challenge of facing the African champions, what made their game plan work and where the club wants to go next.

USMA against Sundowns: a daunting challenge at the African champions' home ground

“ Listen, going back to yesterday’s match, we knew it was going to be difficult. We were playing the Champions League winners. Even though we had won the CAF [Confederation Cup], we were facing the Champions League winners at their own ground, at their home, in front of their supporters.
So we knew it was going to be a complicated match, but we went there with a lot of ambition.”

USMA's tactical answer: stay patient without the ball and break quickly

“We tried to prepare for the game as well as possible, given Mamelodi Sundowns’ very strong playing identity, with a lot of possession. So we prepared our players not to have the ball, not to get frustrated about not having the ball and, precisely, to go forward quickly once we won it back. And that is what happened on several occasions.
So, going back to the match, despite the 3-1 scoreline, I think we could even have won by a slightly bigger margin, especially towards the end of the game.
So we are very satisfied, very happy with this victory. Very happy for USMA, very happy for Algerian football.”

After a fourth continental star, the ambition is to reach the Champions League

“As for our other ambition, over roughly the last three years USMA have won two CAF [Confederation] Cups. So, for me, the logical next step is to qualify for the Champions League. And to qualify for the Champions League, you have to be either Algerian champions or runners-up.
So that is the club’s ambition; we have never hidden it. We know it is complicated, but when you look at the match we played yesterday, I think we are capable of achieving our goals. In any case, that is why we work, that is why we, the staff together with the players, give everything we have so that, inshallah, next year we can play in the Champions League.”

This is USMA's second CAF Super Cup after their 2023 triumph. Together with their two CAF Confederation Cup titles, it brings the club's continental haul to four. Lemmouchia's message is clear: the next step must come through the Algerian league, with a place in the CAF Champions League as the goal.

This article follows our newsroom’s editorial standards. To learn more about how we create and fact-check our content, see our Editorial Policy .