The curtains have closed on Kaizer Chiefs’ CAF Confederation Cup campaign, and former Bafana Bafana international Sibusiso Vilakazi has identified a critical area where Amakhosi must improve as they shift their focus back to the Betway Premiership.
This comes after the Glamour Boys suffered a 2-1 defeat to Egyptian giants Zamalek SC in their last CAF Confederation Cup Group D tie at the Suez Canal Authority Stadium in Ismailia on Saturday night.
As a result, the Soweto giants bowed out of the Confederation Cup tournament after finishing in third place in their group with 10 points from six outings.
While their exit from continental competition and the Nedbank Cup is disappointing, it clears the path for Chiefs to put all their energy into a charge for the Betway Premiership title race.
SIBUSISO VILAKAZI SAYS THAT KAIZER CHIEFS RELIES ON INDIVIDUAL BRILLIANCE
Vilakazi stated that the Chiefs are suffering from a disjointed attack that relies far too heavily on individual brilliance rather than collective rhythm.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns man insists that Chiefs’ over-reliance on Glody Lilepo highlights a concerning lack of contribution from the rest of the forward line.
“Well, if you could check, the goals are only coming from a certain individual, like Glody Lilepo, who is in form right now,” Vilakazi told SuperSport TV.
“You find yourself asking if Etiosa Ighodaro is not match-fit enough to give a different dimension, or if Flavio Silva is not firing here and there as he should, Khanyisa Mayo is also not performing well right now, or if Pule Mmodi is not doing well right now, and Mduduzi Shabalala is still finding his way to become a consistent player who always delivers each and every time. Mfundo Vilakazi is also in between.
“So, it kind of feels like they are in between with Kaizer Chiefs’ attack right now, where I think they really need to work on it as they come back to the Betway Premiership.”
Vilakazi noted that the situation is “neither so bad nor great,” pointing toward the positives found in set-piece routines and flashes of wide-play chemistry.
“I mean, this is neither so bad nor great because of the positives that you could take. I think on the set pieces, they have been working really hard, and it shows. There are certain times I feel they work wider, and on the other side, Lilepo was the one who should be arriving to add numbers. We needed to see more when they added those crosses,” he added.
“The combination is not breaking through for them right now and is not very smooth. Also, regarding the substitution of Gaston Sirino, I felt he played more on the same line as Lebohang Maboe and Siphesihle Ndlovu, and it did not impact the last third, where he [Sirino] could be really creative. Fetching the balls from the other side, and once you’re fetching the balls from the other side, it is too far to get yourself in there [final third] to support Silva, who was very isolated at the same time.”
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