AmaZulu midfielder George Maluleka has weighed in on how Mamelodi Sundowns, his former club, has started the 2022/23 season while also underlining Usuthu’s good start.
Maluleka and AmaZulu are two wins away from winning the first Q-innovation. With a game in hand, the KwaZulu-Natal side is in fourth place on the DStv Premiership standings, two points behind leaders Sundowns after six matches.
Usuthu have won three games against (SuperSport United, Cape Town City and Swallows), drew twice against (TS Galaxy and Kaizer Chiefs) and suffered defeat against Golden Arrows.
They now need six points to win the first Q-innovation of the year, in which they compete against Richards Bay and Sundowns.
MALULEKA ON SUNDOWNS
The defending champions, Sundowns, might be leading the log after seven games, but they’ve had an unusual start as they’ve already lost two games. Maluleka admits it is not surprising for him, as everyone wants to beat defending champions.
“I’m not surprised; these things happen. When you are champions, everyone wants to beat you; they raise their bar and want to prove a point; that is why Sundowns seems to be struggling here,” he said.
The former Sundowns midfielder went on to touch on AmaZulu’s decent start to the campaign, stating that they are yet to reach the level they’ve set up for themselves and that the Durban derby loss against Arrows was a wake-up call.
“It a good start; we’ve managed to get positive results after TS Galaxy draw, then the setback against Arrows, but it been positive, we are very happy,” added Maluleka.
“I don’t want to say we are on form, but we are grinding results, and the fighting spirit is there. We can do more, and we will because we know what we want to achieve.
“Losing to Arrows, it’s a wake-up; I think we were complacent as players, which is something that came at the right time; we needed it.”
Usuthu and take on Sundowns on Sunday, 18 September, in a league clash that might decide who wins the Q-innovation.
AmaZulu officials have made it clear about winning it, and Maluleka also believes achieving that will give them a huge moral boost as a team.
