Kaizer Chiefs were a different team against Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup final, as statistics reveal how Nasreddine Nabi pulled off a famous victory over their old foes.
Chiefs were more adventurous in the league game against Pirates a week prior, where they tried to go pound for pound with Jose Riveiro's charges and, in spite of scoring an early goal, went on to lose 2-1.
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Stats reveal that Amakhosi had 46% of ball possession at full-time, though they had to defend for their lives in the last 10 minutes after Yusuf Maart put them ahead.
But it's also telling, as to the game plan, that they had only one corner compared seven for the opposition, and had no offside calls against them the whole match.
Chiefs only had five shots inside the box, while their bitter rivals almost had double the number of shots, at nine.
To their credit, however, the men in Black and Gold had a 76% pass accuracy compared to Pirates' 78% despite the latter walking into the final carrying the 'favourites' tag.
"The way I see it and after talking to the coach, the way they played, there was no need for a stylish player whatsoever, but we needed to tick the boxes for Pirates not to dominate like they did at FNB Stadium," Doctor Khumalo remarked on SABC Sport TV post-match.
"You look at the attitude of the players, the character, because this is what lacked. But second half, they were a totally different Kaizer Chiefs to what I saw at FNB Stadium and it boils down to one thing: the chemistry of the players and the balance.
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Though Bucs were the most attacking team in the last 10 minutes, trailing 2-1, according to statistics, Chiefs were actually more likely to score even further, as they ended the game with an xG (Expected Goals) of 1,24 compared to 0,52 of the men in Black and Red.
