Kaizer Chiefs coach Giovanni Solinas: Real Madrid or Barcelona would struggle without six key players

Kaizer Chiefs coach Giovanni Solinas revealed that his team suffered from the loss of several star players through injuries.

However, Amakhosi were still able to overcome adversity as they kept their hopes alive of a Telkom Knockout triumph after advancing to the next round of the competition on Sunday.

It was certainly not an easy game as Black Leopards took the Soweto giants all the way after Phathutshedzo Nange put his side ahead, although Chiefs would eventually draw level in the second half.

While the sides could not be separated after 120 minutes of football, Chiefs would eventually emerge victorious as goalkeeper Virgil Vries was the hero from the penalty spot.

“First half my boys did not play well. But at half-time we fixed the mistakes, we talked about the problem,” Solinas told SuperSport TV.

“In the second half, I saw another Kaizer Chiefs. The performance was outstanding, also in extra time,” Solinas added.

“The distance was not right, we did not press the ball. The distance was not right in between the departments. Defensively we had no coordination of movement with the ball. So, we opened the space, this was the main problem. We needed to move the ball quickly from one side to another,” the Italian mentor explained.

“I knew today was going to be difficult for us. We played without six key players. Six key players. We didn’t have Castro, Billiat, Lebogang Manyama, Zuma and Ngezana.

 “Also, Real Madrid or Barcelona would struggle without six key players. It was a stressful game for us. I lost two years of my life today. It’s an emotional game when you go into penalty shootouts you know it’s a lottery," he concluded.

Chiefs’ focus will now shift back on to the Premier Soccer League as Solinas is set to experience his first taste of the Soweto Derby when Chiefs take on Orlando Pirates this coming weekend.