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"Both goals were beautiful. I am proud to coach this humble squad of hard working players," said the Portuguese coach
Iqraam Rayners of Mamelodi Sundowns celebrates his goal during the Betway Premiership 2024/25 game against Cape Town City at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
Leaders Mamelodi Sundowns won 2-0 at Cape Town City on Saturday, leaving the Pretoria club needing seven points from four matches to seal an eighth straight South African league title.
Second-placed Orlando Pirates are 12 points behind with two matches in hand after recovering from conceding a second-minute goal to edge arch rivals Kaizer Chiefs 2-1 in Johannesburg.
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Tashreeq Matthews put Sundowns ahead on 34 minutes at the Cape Town Stadium, finishing a brilliant defence-splitting pass from South African international Iqraam Rayners.
Another superb pass, this time from Brazilian Arthur Sales, set up Rayners for the second goal on 77 minutes as he beat goalkeeper Darren Keet from close range.
Rayners has scored 11 league goals this season, two less than teammate and Golden Boot chart-topper Lucas Ribeiro.
“Both goals were beautiful. I am proud to coach this humble squad of hard working players,” said Miguel Cardoso, the Portuguese coach of Sundowns.
Cardoso has repeatedly hit out recently about the congested fixture list of Sundowns, but they showed no signs of tiredness as they outplayed bottom club Cape Town.
After four more Premiership matches, Sundowns must prepare for the CAF Champions League final against Egyptian club Pyramids, with the first leg in Pretoria on May 24.
After the return match in Cairo on June 1, the South African outfit will switch their focus to the Club World Cup from June 14 in the United States.
Sundowns have been placed in Group F with Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund and South Korean club Ulsan. The mini-league winners and runners-up advance to the knockout stage.
Meanwhile, Makabi Lilepo from the Democratic Republic of Congo stunned Pirates by putting Chiefs ahead inside two minutes with a snap shot before a sell-out 87,000 crowd.
READ MORE: Mofokeng leads Pirates comeback against Chiefs in Soweto derby
Pirates gradually settled and Evidence Makgopa levelled on 24 minutes by placing a close-range shot between the legs of goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma.
A scrappy Soweto derby, constantly interrupted by injuries and fouls, was settled after 69 minutes when Relebohile Mofokeng slammed a loose ball into the far corner of the net.
The clubs meet again next Saturday in the South African FA Cup final in Durban.
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