Category Archives: Mamelodi Sundowns

We Might Know Whats Wrong With Chiefs But What’s Up With Sundowns?

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Drama. That’s the one word I use to describe this weekend’s installment of the PSL title race. Actually, now that I think about it, the word should be ‘comedy’ because as a neutral I was laughing at the unfortunate circumstances Chiefs and Sundowns both found themselves in.😆😆

Log leaders Kaizer Chiefs lost 1-0 via a 94th-minute Bidvest Wits goal. Sundowns wasted a chance to leapfrog Amakhosi for the first time this season when they too lost 0-1 to a relegation threaten Baroka FC a few hours later.

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It seems as though both teams are choking when the pressure is at its highest. The dip in form for Kaizer Chiefs doesn’t come as a surprise to me. No, I am not psychic. Chiefs are not much of an offensive threat and their defence has holes in it. Sundowns, on the other hand, are more of an interesting story. They are the reigning champions. They have been here before. Their last two championship-winning seasons went down to the wire. That team managed to win important games at the business end of the season. This team is floundering against the likes of Baroka (no offence).

We will never know what is going on behind the scenes but there is clearly something wrong with Sundowns. Chiefs faults may be bigger so Sundowns may win the championship by default.

By @chizfootball (the greatest footy journo on the internet)

Sundowns Park The Bus Against Chiefs – And It Worked

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Last night Mamelodi Sundowns beat Kaizer Chiefs to go level on points with Amakhosi on top the PSL log. As interesting as the result may be the intriguing part of it is how they did it.

Well, maybe I shouldn’t use the word ‘intriguing’ because scoring one goal and then defending it for the rest of the game isn’t ‘intriguing’ at all. It’s actually quite negative and boring.  But what made it fascinating was who was doing it.

Mamelodi Sundowns came into yesterday’s game knowing that anything less than a win would surely mean the end of their title hopes. Pitso Mosimane tried convincing us in his pre-match interview that the game ‘isn’t a title decider‘. We didn’t fall for his lousy acting and figured Sundowns would come out guns blazing.

Surprisingly, they didn’t. In the first half, Downs only used four players (Sirino, Zwane, Meza, and Mkhulise) in attack whilst the rest of the team stayed behind the ball. It seemed as though Pitso may have been playing not lose the game rather than to win it. 

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Chiefs v Sundowns: Who Has The Upper Hand Going Into Tonight’s Title Decider?

In the 34th minute, Gaston Sirino caught the Chiefs defense napping when he ran onto the end of Zwane’s clever flick to score. This is when Pitso called for the team’s bus driver to park the team bus in front of their goal for the remainder of the match. Chiefs huffed and puffed but they could blow the Sundowns mansion down.

Parking the bus is not a new thing in football. I hate it, but teams have to do what they have to do. I, however, didn’t expect it from a team with the most talented squad in the league who also happen to the defending champions. This is the most negative I’ve seen Sundowns play and was disappointed.

Kaizer Chiefs are still top of the log on goal difference but have the tougher last three-game. Last night’s match sealed the fate of the championship. Sundowns will be crowned champions.

By @chizfootball (the greatest footy journo on the internet)

Chiefs v Sundowns: Who Has The Upper Hand Going Into Tonight’s Title Decider?

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Tonight log leaders Kaizer Chiefs face second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns in an Absa Premiership title decider. Kaizer Chiefs are at the top of the PSL table with 53 points, Mamelodi Sundowns are behind them by 3 points. 

Like I said yesterday, I believe if Sundowns win this game, they win the title. If Kaizer Chiefs win this game, they win the title. If this game ends in a draw, Kaizer Chiefs win the title.

Let me start off by stating the obvious, Mamelodi Sundowns need the 3 points more than Kaizer Chiefs do. This should worry Pitso Mosimane because his team has been trash post-lockdown. They recorded one loss, three draws, and only one win. That’s 6 out of a possible 15 points.

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BUT! Sundowns go into this title decider after a morale-boosting win against a negative Golden Arrows team on Monday. Sundowns haven’t clicked in attack as of yet but the team has started playing better in the past couple of games.

Kaizer Chiefs have had an equally disappointing post lockdown run, picking up 5 from a possible 12. In all fairness, Ernst Middendorp’s team had been below standard even before the Coronavirus. It seems as though teams have figured out their one-dimensional play of crosses and set pieces.

Speaking of set pieces, tonight they will be without Samir Nurković and Leonardo Castro. The loss of their aerial threat from set-plays is a huge loss for Kaizer Chiefs. 

Sundowns have struggled to breakdown teams with well-structured defences. They have even struggled even more to stop teams from catching them on the counter-attack.  Will Ernst Middendorp is brave enough to replace his two good but slow strikers with an average but pacier attack. Kambole, Billiat, and Zuma might do the trick. Scrapping the 3-5-2 for a 4-3-3, and playing on the counter-attack.

With all that being said, you’d have to say Mamelodi Sundowns has the edge going into the game. Kaizer Chiefs confidence is low and their defence leaks goals for fun. They have conceded 7 goals in their 4 bubble games. Chiefs have scored 6 on the other end but four of them have been from through set-pieces and they are without two of their best headers of the ball. I don’t see how Chiefs will score and how they will keep out one of the best attacks in the league. 

By @chizfootball (the greatest footy journo on the internet)

Chiefs v Sundowns: Absa Premiership Cup Final

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Let’s begin by getting the ‘facts’ out of the way. If Sundowns win this game, they win the title. If Kaizer Chiefs win this game, they win the title. If this game ends in a draw, Kaizer Chiefs win the title. As you can see Mamelodi Sundowns need to win this game more than Kaizer Chiefs does. 

You: “…but after the game, there will still be three games left to play so…’🤷🏿‍♂️

Yes, I know but the result of this game will do one of two things: crush Kaizer Chiefs’ flakey moral or deal a death blow to Mamelodi Sundowns’ confidence. I don’t see any team recovering from an unfavourable result plus I’m a psychic. 

As the title says this is a cup final. Do or die. Wafa-wafa. Sure, Kaizer Chiefs have the advantage because they don’t need to win BUT, they’d be foolish to go in this looking for a draw. Mamelodi Sundowns got lucky on Monday with their last gasp win against Golden Arrows. Their confidence will be reaching its peak. 

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Kaizer Chiefs as currently constructed cannot match Sundowns pound for pound. They’d get knocked out before the first water break. It’s not that Chiefs don’t have good players, it’s just that they have not being utilized correctly (that’s another story for another writer).

The suspension of their leading goal scorer Samir Nurković and striker Leonardo Castro’s injury concerns are big blows. However, Sundowns aren’t great at defending quick counter-attacks. Ernst Middendorp may choose to replace the unavailable strikers with forwards that have pace.  

We’ll chat more about which team has the upper hand going into the huge clash tomorrow.

By @chizfootball (the greatest footy journo on the internet)

6 Questions About The Restart Of The PSL Championship Race

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Remember the PSL? Well, it’s back. I answer 6 questions about the restart, including who has the most pressure to win the PSL championship and many more.

1. Who is the team with momentum?

Mamelodi Sundowns.

It’s difficult to talk about momentum because no team has played a competitive football match for four and a half months. Going into the lockdown Sundowns had won four of their five league games.

2. Which team has benefited from the break?

Kaizer Chiefs.

Amakhosi went it to the lockdown on a run of two wins, two losses, and one draw in their last five PSL games – that isn’t championship-winning form.

Four and a half months is a long time. This feels like a new season. The time will surely rejuvenate Ernst Middendorp’s team to refocus. 

3. Who will Kaizer Chiefs replace Maluleka with?

Kearyn Baccus is a decent player. He is actually pretty good but injuries kept him out for much of the season. Baccus might not have Maluleka’s passing range but he makes up for it with his other attributes. 

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Losing To Pirates Was The Worst Outcome For Mamelodi Sundowns

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A strange thing happened yesterday. For the first time ever, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates supporters came together and supported the latter in their quest to (a.) not lose against Mamelodi Sundowns and (b.) preferably beat them. 

Mamelodi Sundowns came into the game nine points behind log leaders Kaizer Chiefs with a game in hand. A loss against Pirates would equal the number of matches played with Chiefs but the lead would stay intact. Downs went a goal down in the first half and never recovered. 

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[Highlights] Orlando Pirates Make Kaizer Chiefs Fans Happy For One Night Only | Absa Premiership 2019/2020

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Last night for the first time in maybe history, Kaizer Chiefs supporters were on the side of Orlando Pirates when they met Mamelodi Sundowns. The Buccaneers beat The Brazilians at home for the first time since 2011

Lebese Urges PSL Clubs Not To George A Book By It’s Cover

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“No one calls, and what I’ve heard, I think people have this illusion that I’m asking for big money… I don’t know about that,” said George Lebese On Robert Marawa’s  Marawa TV.

The former Kaizer Chiefs attacking midfielder has been without a club since Mamelodi Sundowns decided not to renew his contract three months ago. It was rumoured this week that Amazulu were kind of interested but decided to pull the plug on that idea. Supersport United, a club he played for on loan for last season, were said to have called dibs on the 30-year-old’s signature after he left Downs. They changed their mind later when they figured Lebese would be a surplus to their requirement. 

“Well, I think for now we are focusing on the players we have, I think we’ve got enough numbers in that position,” Supersport United coach Kaitano Tembo said.

“We’ve got [Aubrey] Modiba, [Kudakwashe] Mahachi, [Thabo] Qalinge and [Evans] Rusike so we are a bit loaded in that department for now, so we will only focus on what we have at the moment.”

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Pitso: ‘…we are five points behind in our programme’

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Last weekend Pitso Mosimane’s Mamelodi Sundowns lost their second league game 3-2 against Golden Arrows at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium. 

“As I said difficult game, what can you say difficult conditions for both teams obviously. Ja, the biggest mistake by our number one goalkeeper [Denis Onyango], it happens, it’s the conditions,” Mosimane told SuperSport TV in his post-game interview.

The ‘mistake’ or as the 2000’s call it ‘epic fail’ he was referring to was Denis Onyango’s error which led to Golden Arrows’ equalising goal. A seemingly harmless shot by Golden Arrows midfielder Danny Phiri slipped through the goalkeeper’s hands, went through his legs, and rolled over the goalline slower than a tortoise with arthritis. 

“We know how we lost to be honest,

“I hope Denis mentally can recover from that because normally the bounce should bounce in front of the goalkeeper, but because of the conditions the bounce couldn’t favour him.” said Mosimane

If Pitso thinks the reason they lost the game was because of a goalkeeping error then he needs to give me some of the medication he is on. More on that later. Continue reading →