Mamelodi Sundowns showed that there is a huge difference between hype and class when they thumped Orlando Pirates 4-1 at the Loftus Stadium on Saturday.
The Buccaneers were on a high after winning the Soweto derby last week and their midweek match against Sekhukhune United.
But on Saturday, they were brought back to earth with a bang. Sundowns have now stretched their lead at the top of the Betway Premiership to nine points. Pirates will now have a mountain to climb in order to catch up with the Brazilians.
Brazilian international Lucas Ribeiro Costa was the star of the show, as he produced yet another jaw-dropping performance and possibly justified some of the early talks that he should be crowned the Player of the Season over Bucs youngster Relebohile Mofokeng.
Ribeiro scored the goal of the season so far when he picked up a loose ball from his own half and confronted about three Pirates defenders. Unsurprisingly, he dazzled past all of them and fired a short from an acute angle to leave a fully stretched Sipho Chaine with no chance.
Unlike many other coaches would be expected to react going into the break trailing by two goals against a well-oiled Sundowns machine, Jose Riveiro went through down the tunnel very calm like a man with a plan B.
Indeed, his troops came back fired up and looked like a completely different team altogether, as they pulled one back to awaken their rather defeated crowd.
However, Ribeiro was having none of that as he once again showed his sheer quality and got his second goal of the match to silence the travelling supporters and ultimately bag all three points.
The 26-year-old came off with a standing ovation from the boisterous yellow army, who showed appreciation to him by chanting his name – using the same rhyme and rhythm as the Buccaneers supporters when they chant the name of their coach Riveiro.
Take nothing away from the rest of the Sundowns team, as they once again showed their class and championship mentality, with players like Teboho Mokoena and Grant Kekana also registering their names on the scoresheet.
