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Sundowns are going to dominate Pirates

Soccer Laduma

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August 07, 2025

It’s good to see Mamelodi Sundowns in the groove, continuing where they left off last season and winning by a 4-0 margin against Richards Bay FC.

The fact that Lucas Ribeiro Costa, the PSL Footballer of the Year and the Players' Player of the Year, was not there shows the depth that Sundowns have. It doesn’t come as a surprise that they mean business again this season. This is one season I think they'll have a good start, and hopefully go all the way in the MTN8. I was not really taken aback by the fact that Lucas Ribeiro was not there because everyone knows that Sundowns doesn’t depend on just one player. If you take out Lucas Ribeiro and put in Themba Zwane, no one will complain. And if you take out Mshishi and put in Teboho Mokoena or someone else in the midfield, no one will complain because the calibre is very high. Everyone understands the way Sundowns play whether they are on the bench or on the field, the quality is always there. Even if the opposing team sees that one player is not there, they surely know the next one is as good as the one he replaced. For me, knowing how Sundowns play and the profile of the players they have, I didn’t really think too much about the players who were not there. I didn’t watch Orlando Pirates’ 2-0 win against Polokwane City, but having said that, it was the expected result. When I look at it overall, last season’s top four finishers are the teams that are in the semifinals now. It makes for a good semifinal and shows that the top four teams started from where they left off last season and are back on track.

On the Sundowns vs Pirates semifinal

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