Johannesburg — Defending DStv Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns have separated themselves from the chasing pack once again and are a few victories away from retaining their league title.
The Brazilians have thumped, trampled and terrorised opposition teams for fun this season on their way to establishing the 13-point gap they hold at the top of the standings.
While rival coaches and players refuse to accept the inevitable, the Chloorkop-based club are champions in waiting, if one considers the trend of the last five seasons,
The highest points tally by a champion since 2018 has been 67 which was set by Sundowns themselves in the 2020/2021 season and the closest rival to that figure being the 65 they collected in the last campaign.
The Pretoria side are nine victories away from exceeding their best-ever league total, a figure that has guaranteed champions in the last half a decade.
SuperSport United, Richards Bay and Kaizer Chiefs are the only three teams still with a chance of exceeding the 67 points record, granted they win their remaining 15 matches, which is highly unlikely.
The closest side to the runaway leaders is Gavin Hunt’s Matsatsantsa, who are on 27 points. The best runners-up points tally in the last five seasons has been 57, set by Orlando Pirates in the 2018/2019 campaign and matched by Chiefs the season after that.
In order to deny their cross-town rivals a sixth league crown in a row, SuperSport would need to beat Sundowns on their way to claiming 15 victories in the second round and reach their mathematically possible total of 72 points, a number they’ve never managed in the club’s history.
Sundowns have shown unfamiliar disgruntlement in the changeroom this campaign, however, they have also exhibited an impressive ability to ride the purple patches on the field and also grind victories against the strongest teams in the league, which makes them almost unstoppable in league competition.
The Brazilians have racked up eight successive home wins and 10 consecutive wins since their 2-1 loss to their next opponent SuperSport back in September.
Now under the sole leadership of coach Rulani Mokwena, Sundowns are still in line to reach a never seen before total of 82 points this season, granted they don’t drop points in their remaining 14 matches.
Mokwena will lead his charges out against SuperSport, one of the two teams that have beaten Sundowns this season, on Monday in a 6pm kick-off.
IOL Sport