Kaizer Chiefs secured third place and CAF Confederation Cup qualification for next season, but former defender Tsepo Masilela insists the club remains far from challenging Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates over a full season.
The former Bafana Bafana left-back noted that while Amakhosi have improved their defensive structure off the ball, they lack visible quality in their attacking patterns, particularly when facing elite opposition.
Masilela argues that Chiefs are currently overly dependent on individual brilliance rather than established, repeatable attacking movements in the final third.
The Soweto giants sealed their return to continental football following a 2-0 win over Sekhukhune United on Sunday night in a Betway Premiership tie held at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. They secured the result with two games to spare.”
TSEPO MASILELA QUESTIONS KAIZER CHIEFS’ ATTACKING IDENTITY
“For me, I would say there is still a lot of work to be done,” Masilela said on the Soccer Beat podcast. “We take nothing away from the season they have had, finishing third after last season, where they could not even make the top eight.”
“There is still a long way to go if you want to challenge the likes of Pirates and Sundowns. Looking at Chiefs throughout the season, and not just the Sekhukhune result, the analysis suggests they were merely playing for draws in the big games. The question remains: if they played an open game, could they really match them? Asked the ex-Amakhosi star.
“It was not a consistent Chiefs team…the performances in the first half and the second half were not the same.
“You saw this in both the Pirates and the Sundowns games. The consistency was not there. It was the same against Sekhukhune, not a good performance in the first half and second.”
RARE MOMENTS FROM FLAVIO SILVA AND GLODY LILEPO HAVE MASKED PROBLEMS
Masilela added that Chiefs performed better against Sundowns and Pirates because they spent more time without the ball, allowing them to stay organised defensively with good shape and spacing. However, he feels it remains a worrying factor going forward, questioning whether Chiefs are capable of hurting strong teams.
“But in attack, what do you do after defending well against those big teams? As I’ve said previously, they rely more on individual brilliance in attack. If Mdu [Mduduzi Shabalala] is not creating something, you find a Flavio Silva or Glody Lilepo taking a shot; otherwise, you don’t get any repeated patterns in their attacks,” Masilela added.
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