Former Mamelodi Sundowns defender Benson Mhlongo believes that the wheels are starting to come off at his former side though teams are struggling to take advantage of this.
Sundowns has dominated the domestic scene in recent times and currently have unprecedented eight league titles won in a row and are aiming for a ninth one. However, they haven’t started the current Betway Premiership campaign well, winning three of their five league matches to sit in third position on the league standings with 11 points, two points from the current leaders Sekhukhune United and Kaizer Chiefs.
The side’s challenges with want-away players have been widely reported with their stars from last season like Lucas Ribeiro and Khuliso Mudau having not featured for them so far this term.
Mhlongo spoke to iDiski Times senior writer Matshelane Mamabolo in edition 219 of the newspaper where he noted how clubs are catching up with the defending champions but still failing to capitalise on their problems off the field and keeping their own good players.
“The wheels are coming off,” Mhlongo told iDiski Times.
“Now everyone can compete with Sundowns. I think that’s what is happening. I think football now is played off the field, and people are realising that the only way to beat Sundowns is to cripple them – to find offers for those good players and ignite them to want to leave. So, there’s something happening behind the scenes, I think.
“Still, I think it’s going to take another two seasons to beat them because these other big teams, [Kaizer] Chiefs and [Orlando] Pirates, instead of keeping the squad that’s been competing with Sundowns, they are building again.
“They are giving Sundowns a chance, and they are missing the opportunity. And then these ones [Sundowns] will rebuild quicker.”
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