PSL: Riveiro Makes Bold Statement on Title Race Between Pirates and Sundowns

• Jose Riveiro has dropped his views concerning this season's title race between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns in the Betway Premiership
• The Spanish tactician is not bothered about the Brazilians 12-point lead on the Premier Soccer League table, with the Sea Robbers still having outstanding matches
• The Soweto giants have the chance to beat the Pretoria-based club to the title this season

Spanish coach Jose Riveiro has made a bold statement about the ongoing title race between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns in the Betway Premiership this season.

The Sea Robbers are giving the Brazilians a run for their money, the defending champions are showing characteristics of champion-elect with their performance so far this season.

The Soweto giants are 12 points behind Masandawana on the log but have outstanding matches, which could help them reduce the deficit if they manage to win both games.

Riveiro speaks on Sundowns, Pirates title race in PSL.

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In an interview, Riveiro commented on Orlando Pirates' outstanding matches and believes they still have a fair chance in the league this season despite being 12 points behind.

The former Celta Vigo youth coach downplayed Masandawana's lead as he believes good result in the Bucs' outstanding matches could bring them closer to Miguel Cardoso's men.

"We have three games in hand, and we need to make the most of them. Otherwise, they won’t mean anything," Riveiro stated.

"This is a personal perspective. This season has been a bit unusual, especially with the way things started in the league due to sponsorship issues and the challenges we faced early on.

"Our schedule has been... well, today’s match against Cape Town City FC marks our 33rd game across all competitions, if I’m not mistaken—32 or 33. And it's still February. Meanwhile, this is only our 15th league match, which is something that doesn’t typically happen.

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"I would have preferred that we were all on the same number of league games as Sundowns so we could get a clearer picture of where we stand. It’s dangerous for us at Pirates to look at the table and see Sundowns 9, 10, or 12 points ahead, when the reality isn’t entirely reflective of where we are.

"There’s still a chance to close that gap, and we have to work hard to make it happen, but it’s still possible. I don’t focus on the table. I’m not the type to obsess over the numbers. There’s nothing to gain from that.

"It is what it is—this is the current state of the league and the competitions. All we can do is give our best in each upcoming game."

Source: Briefly News