Fernando da Cruz shrugs off Mamelodi Sundowns comparison

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Fernando da Cruz has dismissed the notion that his team is ready to go pound to pound with Mamelodi Sundowns after the two sides settled for a one-all draw over the weekend.

The Glamour Boys, as a result, maintained their spot in the upper echelons of the Betway Premiership as they are level on seven points with log leaders and defending champions Orlando Pirates after three matches played.

With his team selection against Sundowns heavily criticized and perceived as a pragmatic approach, da Cruz clarified the tactical decisions, revealing injury blows in the build-up to the clash.

“First of all, we set up this structure because we have injured players, so we needed to find a solution in two days. If you give too much space to this team, they can kill us, so we needed to control the space in front of us but also behind us,” said the Chiefs boss.

"But in this game we prepared our team to be able to attack, we were not very good in possession in the first half, it was better in the second half.

Having successfully frustrated the African champions by limiting their chance creation, the Frenchman is not getting ahead of himself and insist his troops are nowhere near the level of Sundowns thus far.

“We cannot compare Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs at the moment because Sundowns players have played together for six or seven years, and we just arrived one and a half month ago," da Cruz added.

"Give us time and we will improve step by step. We made a good start in the PSL but we need to stay calm and quite because we need to work a lot in our offensive part.

Chiefs will return to Betway Premiership action with a visit to Richards Bay on Wednesday, 26 August, as they look to continue their unbeaten run in the league.

Hlayisani Magoro

Editorfr, en

Football journalist from South Africa covering African football news, exclusive stories and key events while sharing insights with passionate fans of the game.

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Kaizer Chiefs

Mamelodi Sundowns FC