Head coach Rulani Mokwena has revealed the secret how history helped prepare for the likes of Zakhele Lepasa and Patrick Maswanganyi during Sundowns' 1-0 win over Orlando Pirates.
The Brazilians maintained their 100% win record in the DStv Premiership and extended their winning run to seven matches on the trot thanks to Lucas Ribeiro's first-half goal against Pirates on Wednesday night.
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Defensively, the log leaders also successfully managed to nullify the threat of person two of the Buccaneers' most threatening players this season in Lepasa and Maswanganyi.
The pair has directly contributed to 15 of Orlando Pirates' goals this season either through scoring or assists but were each ineffective and subsequently substituted off in the second half against Sundowns.
"The greatest benefit of coaching Black Poison is that I get to be right at the heart of where football is, so I’ve seen Maswanganyi play and I’ve seen him play freely, I know what he can do," Mokwena responded when asked in the post-match press conference if he had planned for the duo.
?? ????????-???????? ??The Brazilians continue with their dominance in Orlando!?????????????? ?????????????? 0??1? ???????????????? ?????????????????? LIVE?? SABC 3?? SABC+?? https://t.co/hibb8lgo8P#SABCSportFootball #DStvPrem pic.twitter.com/HeGajgalpb
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) September 20, 2023
"I’ve seen Zakhele Lepasa in a Cup final, Black Poison versus Sneke Chillers (Lepasa's former team), and scoring against Black Poison. So many people say 'yes this one is obsessed with football he has no social life', but the truth is it helps me to have information on the players we are coming up [against], and what they are strong at and that background information helps a bit.
"No we don’t plan around any single individual, but we do a lot of work behind the scenes."
Next for Sundowns is a second-leg semi-final against Kaizer Chiefs to be played on Saturday at Lucas Moripe Stadium. Kick-off is at 15:00.
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