Here is the story: Mamelodi Sundowns brushed aside Marumo Gallants 3-1 on Thursday night at the Toyota stadium, Free State.
The victory saw Rulani Mokwena’s men advance to the Nedbank Cup last eight, and the Downs head coach has compared his unstoppable side to the English Premier League giants, Manchester City.
Man City, under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola, Mokwena’s obvious inspiration, play a cutting edge brand of possession football that makes them a difficult team to defend against, which helps them create scoring opportunities with ease.
“A lot of teams know how Man City creates the chances, a lot of teams know how Sundowns create the chances, “he told Supersport TV after his sides win over Gallants.
Mokwena went on to heap praises on his talented group of players, mentioning how he and his technical team are lucky to be coaching such players.
“But the players are so good, the game belongs to the players and a lot of credit goes to this honest, honest group
“Denis brings the experience, Mvala, Mosa was good today, he was very stable today, Mshishi gives the experience and leadership.
“Bongani Zungu was strong and gave a lot of quality, and he’s got a lot of experience. Peter was good. It’s always a team effort. I always say that I don’t single out individuals. Mothobi was also good with the aerial balls,” he concluded.
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The fact of the matter is: Rulani Mokwena is justified to go as far as comparing Downs to Man City.
The Brazilians play a possession based game that is pleasing to the eye, they dominate the ball in almost every game they play.
Their statistics are unmatched by any team in the league.
Downs average 62% possession per game, which is head and shoulders above the rest in the Dstv Premiership.
They don’t just keep the ball well; they use it to create good goal scoring opportunities. The Brazilians average an xGF (expected goals for) of 1.87 per match, which means they create high quality chances, and they do convert them, with an average of 1.86 goals per match, according to FootyStats.Org.
A good example of Downs’ excellent chance conversion rate was Peter Shalulile’s hat-trick on Thursday night against Marumo Gallants.
Shalulile’s three goals came from his only three shots of the game, and they were all from close range.
That is just the quality that the Brazilians have, and Mokwena is indeed lucky to be working with such top players.
The players are lucky to have him as their coach too!
Mokwena is a hardworking coach who is well versed in modern football trends and its intricacies, and that can aid with the improvements in his players’ performances.
In a nutshell: Mamelodi Sundowns are a top side, no doubts about that, and Mokwena has every right to liken them to Man City, why not!
But here is the thing, Man City are struggling to win the Champions league! Downs too!