Mamelodi Sundowns’ Peter Shalulile and Thapelo Morena.
(Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)

• Mamelodi Sundowns beat SuperSport United 2-0 to return to the top of the DStv Premiership standings. 
• This was Sundowns’ first league match in two months having been busy with cup commitments in the MTN8, Carling Knockout and African Football League.
• The win made it nine out of nine for Sundowns, looking menacing and if they continue like this, they will break numerous records in the local game. 
• For more sports news, go to the News24 Sport front page. 

Mamelodi Sundowns returned to the DStv Premiership to reclaim their rightful place after giving the other 15 teams two months to try catch-up and even leapfrog the Brazilians who were busy with cup commitments. 

The rest of the pack barely put a dent on Sundowns’ lead, allowing the Tshwane giants to easily return to the summit of the league by beating SuperSport United 2-0 at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Wednesday night. 

SuperSport’s coach Gavin Hunt called the current standings a farce, with Sundowns four games behind the teams in the top four due to their games being postponed to help them take part in the African Football League they won.

This imbalance in the number of matches doesn’t give an honest picture of where clubs are. But while the rest might have to wait for all teams to play the same number of games, Sundowns know exactly where they are.

The Brazilians are the benchmark, and before they have even played a third of the league’s 30 games, they are already champions-elect. It took two months of Sundowns not playing league football for Cape Town City to leapfrog them at the summit.

But Sundowns needed just 90 minutes to return to the top, beating their Pretoria rivals to make it nine wins out of nine in the league. It’s an impressive run from the side that has won the last six league titles in a row, with coach Rhulani Mokwena insisting that they can still improve. 

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The Brazilians put on a commanding display against their neighbours in a match that highlighted the best out of these two clubs, but also making it clear why Sundowns have ruled Pretoria and the rest of the country in the last decade. 

SuperSport, whose talent has been plundered by Sundowns, were brave and looked to outsmart the Brazilians. Matsatsantsa a Pitori targeted their former goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who they know likes to leave his box to play as a sweeper keeper.

They came close on three occasions to beat Williams but they lacked the clinical touch. That was due to their lack of quality, with only Bradley Grobler a genuine goalscorer. Due to the gulf in class in terms of quality and depth, SuperSport did well to be as close to Sundowns as they were.

But Sundowns are not the team you let off the hook. 

The Brazilians showed why they have no rivals in the country and the continent at the moment. Mokwena once again rotated the squad, something he doesn’t like but is forced to do due to their heavy load that will see them play in the Democratic Republic of Congo this weekend in the second of their CAF Champions League group stage matches. 

While the team was refreshed, Sundowns’ goalscorers were regulars – the attacking pair of Peter Shalulile and Lucas Ribeiro. For a second successive match the two were on the score sheet together. Shalulile’s goal showed his striker’s instinct and the goal poacher that he is. He doesn’t need many touches, just the right ones in the box to make it count.