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Title party at Loftus as Mamelodi Sundowns rejoice with Champions League final on the horizon

Title party at Loftus as Mamelodi Sundowns rejoice with Champions League final on the horizon

IOL News18-05-2025

Mamelodi Sundowns have another opportunity to celebrate, if they can beat Pyramids in the upcoming CAF Champions League final. Photo: Backpagepix
Image: Backpagepix
Mamelodi Sundowns will be officially crowned 2024/25 Premiership champions at Loftus Versfeld today.
They face Magesi FC in their final home game of the campaign, with kick-off set for 5.30pm.
The match will also mark the official handover of the new-look PSL trophy.
Sundowns clinched the title on Wednesday night with a commanding win over Chippa United at Buffalo City Stadium in East London.
The win took them to 70 points from 27 matches – making them mathematically untouchable at the top.
It also gave coach Miguel Cardoso the green light to start planning for the CAF Champions League final.
'I will start thinking about it now,' Cardoso said, looking ahead to the May 24 showdown against Pyramids FC in Pretoria.
'But it doesn't mean we will not prepare to win our next match (against Magesi).
'Of course we will, because Magesi have been doing well in their recent games. We want to finish the league in the best way, in front of our fans.'
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Mamelodi Sundowns' attack is lethal 🔥
These six players have scored a combined 51 goals in the #BetwayPrem this season.#SSDiski pic.twitter.com/gArd4SomkS — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 16, 2025
He further added: 'But I will now obviously start planning for Pyramids.
'I know that my people are working on it because that's the way we prepare. The way they are also working on the Club World Cup.
'But about the Club World Cup, I don't worry at all.
'I have time to start watching something about Pyramids, but let's keep an eye on ourselves because that's also the most important thing.'
Striker Iqraam Rayners opened the scoring against Chippa in their last fixture.
The goal moved him level with teammate Lucas Ribeiro Costa – both now on 14 league goals.
This sets up a friendly in-house shootout for the Golden Boot in today's fixture.
Cardoso, appointed in December, has guided the club to 17 wins, one draw and one loss in 19 league matches.
His impact has been felt across the board, particularly in how Sundowns have coasted to the title.
'I have time now to start watching something about Pyramids,' he said.
'But let's keep an eye on ourselves – that's also the most important thing.'
𝙏𝙄𝘾𝙆𝙀𝙏𝙎 𝙎𝙊𝙇𝘿 𝙊𝙐𝙏
⏰ Ticket holders, be sure to arrive early!
🚫 No tickets will be sold at the stadium.#Sundowns #TotalEnergiesCAFCL #RabatsenaGape pic.twitter.com/f9uFFOLbKY — Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) May 15, 2025
Masandawana have now matched the PSL-era record of 23 wins in a 34-game season.
They also shattered their own record for most wins in a 30-game campaign – all achieved in just 27 games. Their dominance has been absolute.
Today's visitors, Magesi FC, come in hot with five straight wins.
They've only conceded two goals in that stretch, and sit 12th on the table with five games remaining.
Though not yet safe from relegation, they'll hope to build on their momentum and climb further.
Magesi will still face Marumo Gallants and Orlando Pirates after this weekend.
Delano Abrahams remains their key man. The versatile forward has scored in three of Magesi's last five matches.
He'll be looking to test the newly crowned champions on their big day.
But the afternoon will belong to Sundowns. Their title defence is complete – now, the focus shifts to Africa.

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