The highly anticipated clash between Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns settled to a 1-1 draw in an entertaining Betway Premiership encounter at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with both sides maintaining their unbeaten starts to the league campaign.
The result ended Chiefs’ perfect start, but Fernando da Cruz’s side remains unbeaten after three matches and moves to seven points.
After a goalless first half, Chiefs broke the deadlock in the 64th minute when new signing Langelihle Phili found the back of the net, sending the home supporters into celebration.
Sundowns responded 11 minutes later through Cassius Mailula, who restored parity and scored his second goal since returning to the Tshwane giants.
Both teams pushed for a winner in the closing stages, but neither could find the decisive goal as the points were shared.
For Chiefs, the result represents another encouraging step under Da Cruz, who has repeatedly stressed that his team needs time to develop.
The French coach revealed that he had only two days to prepare his tactical structure for the match due to injuries within his squad.
In two days, we had to set up this structure because we had injured players, so we needed to find a solution quickly,Da Cruz said.
Da Cruz also explained the tactical approach required against a Sundowns side capable of exploiting spaces.
If you give this team too much space, they can hurt you. So we had to control not only the spaces in front of us but also the spaces behind us.
Chiefs struggled to execute their attacking plans in the opening half, but Da Cruz felt his side improved after the interval.
We had ideas and prepared the team to play offensively, even though we didn’t have much time. That’s where we were a little less effective in the first half, but we were better in the second half.
The Chiefs coach believes comparisons between the two clubs are premature, given the difference in squad continuity.
If we want to compare Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs, we cannot compare them at the moment. Sundowns have players who have been playing together for six or seven years, while we have only been together here at Kaizer Chiefs for about a month and a half.
So, give us time and we will improve step by step.
Da Cruz admitted that there is still considerable work to be done, particularly in the attacking department.
We have made a good start to the PSL, but we still have a lot of work to do. We need to remain calm and, above all, improve in the offensive part of our game.
Meanwhile, the Sundowns coach acknowledged that his side could have taken all three points but was more interested in the commitment shown by his players.
Obviously, if we had not conceded, we could have won 3-0, like we scored three goals in the last two matches. That would have been more beautiful than winning 3-2. If we had not suffered today, it could also have been a 1-0 win. But I don’t look at things that way.
What I look at is the commitment the team showed.
The Sundowns coach was also pleased that his side avoided conceding from a set piece, an area that had previously caused problems.
If you look at the games where we suffered, today we stopped conceding from set pieces. Some of the goals we conceded came from set pieces and from mistakes that we made. We are not a team that usually suffers from set pieces.
Defensive stability remains a priority for Sundowns, particularly with the club competing across multiple fronts.
I will always be happy if we score one more goal than the opponent. I will be much happier if we can score one more than the opponent, but of course, we also want clean sheets.
The Sundowns coach stressed that his side cannot afford defensive lapses in the CAF Champions League and MTN8.
That is the stability the team needs because we know there are competitions where we cannot afford to concede goals. In the Champions League, we cannot concede goals. In the MTN8 semi-finals, we cannot concede goals.
Sundowns’ goal came after Chiefs attempted to play out from the back, with a misplaced pass allowing the visitors to regain possession and launch a quick attack.
Today, we conceded a goal from a moment when we were trying to play from the back with good intentions, but a slightly bad pass allowed them to recover the ball and launch a quick attack against us.
Despite dropping two points, Sundowns remain unbeaten, while Chiefs continue to build under Da Cruz.
The draw ultimately reflected the competitive nature of the fixture, with both sides showing enough quality to threaten but neither able to produce the decisive moment.
For Chiefs, the message remains clear: there is still work to be done, but Da Cruz believes patience and consistency can help the club close the gap on the established power of Sundowns.