Pressure on Jose Riveiro? Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi sends warning to Orlando Pirates in battle for PSL title - 'I prefer to chase'

Mamelodi Sundowns bounced back from their 1-0 loss against Polokwane City in the Premier Soccer League to put three past Cape Town City on Wednesday night at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium. 

Peter Shalulile claimed a brace with Lucas Ribeiro giving Masandawana a vital win that put them three points behind leaders Orlando Pirates who have 18 points from six matches.

Despite a massive win, coach Manqoba Mngqithi gave the Citizens' tactician his flowers for what he is doing at the club.

"I must commend the good work that Eric is doing at Cape Town City. I think less is said about the positive stories that one sees as a coach. I think he's introduced a lot of youngsters who are really doing very well and his team plays in my opinion the best football in the league," the tactician said after the fixture.

"Very good speed of play, good movements of the ball, lot of mobility and I felt it's important for me to commend his good work because sometimes when you do not win, it looks like you did not do anything but the truth is I think they are playing some of the best football.

"I like to watch their team and I think I watched five of their matches because they were exciting to watch."

The Brazilians' coach rued the missed chances from his arsenal which could have given his team a big goal margin.

"We started the game very well, good energy, good intensity, good ball speed and I think our build-ups were very spot on. We created good opportunities from most of those situations and it was pleasing to see the team giving a reaction like this because that's what we expected," he continued.

"In as much as we scored three and I'm happy with three but I still maintain that I think we could have scored more. When I look at the chances that we got I think we could have done even better but nonetheless, one should appreciate that from a defeat we managed to win against what I believe is one of the best teams in the league."

In the last couple of seasons, Downs have started the race well, dominating the proceedings from the early stage. However, this time around, they are trailing coach Jose Riveiro's Pirates who have a 100 percent winning record.

"Personally I prefer to chase, personally, because you always have a target, and we have been that target for far too long," Mngqithi opened up.

"But when you are there, you must never slip up. So I think it will be better to chase, it will be better to chase [the title]."

Mngqithi further lauded other teams in the PSL for what they are doing in terms of competition in domestic football.

"When you see so many teams being competitive against the big teams, that for me is a plus on our preparations for the  Champions League, as you would want to play a tough match every week to makes sure you’re at a very good level for the Champions League," the 53-year-old stated.

"I applaud the work the coaches are doing to make life difficult for everybody else in the league, I really like that, it will help us all, ourselves and Orlando Pirates in the Champions League."

The defending Premier Soccer League champions will now face another test on Saturday at the FNB Stadium in the Carling Knockout quarter-final game against Kaizer Chiefs.

The two teams met in the league fixture a couple of weeks ago where Masandawana controversially claimed a 2-1 win.