As it stands, Sundowns have played one more game than the other top-eight clubs in the DStv Premiership, but it does not diminish what appears to be an unassailable advantage at the top of the rankings.
Masandawana are currently 14 points ahead of second-placed Richards Bay and 16 points ahead of SuperSport, the team they defeated 1-0 on Monday night.
Pirates are in fifth place in the DStv Premiership rankings, trailing Chiefs by only two points. Nonetheless, the Sundowns (43 points) and Chiefs (19 points) are separated by 19 log points (24 points).
It has become abundantly evident that there is an impassable chasm between Sundowns and the chasing group, and the second half of the season will now focus primarily on attaining individual club goals.
Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena remarked after the match that SuperSport coach Gavin Hunt may have downplayed the possibility of any team competing with The Brazilians, but he added that there was no doubt that they pushed his team on Monday.
“It was a typical match against an ambitious team,” Mokwena was reported as saying by iDiski Times. “They can say it, and I just told Gavin, ‘he can say he has no ambition to win the league title, but they definitely did, and they knew they had to push us and push us,’” I added. They did not travel here to relax. And when you play against a coach who has won four league championships, remember that he did not win them by accident; they were not given to him.
“We anticipate some type of organization and tactical surprises, similar to what we saw with the inverted wingers; [Ghampani] Lungu played on the left flank and cut inside onto his right foot, for example. We observed [Thapelo] Maseko on the other sideline and cutting inside onto his left foot in the first half, so we changed it instantly at halftime for the second half.
We had to restructure because we were playing with inverted fullbacks.
Saturday marks Sundowns’ return to play when they travel to FNB Stadium to face Kaizer Chief.
»Is the title already won? Sundowns coach reacts to psychological games«