Orlando Pirates beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 on Saturday to win the Soweto Derby and retain the bragging rights in Soweto. Patrick Maswanganyi’s late penalty was enough to grab all the points and remain within touching distance of a Sundowns side that are cruising along themselves. There were wins also for TS Galaxy, Polokwane City, and AmaZulu. Here are the top stats from the weekend in detail.
On Jose Riveiro’s derby wins
4 - Jose Riveiro is the first Orlando Pirates coach in PSL history to win four consecutive Soweto derby matches against Kaizer Chiefs (all comps).
In the PSL era, he is the first Pirates coach to win four derbies overall.
Most derbies won by a Pirates coach (PSL era only):
4 - Riveiro Jose*
3 - Krol Ruud
3 - Sredojević Milutin
3 - Zinnbauer Josef
On other derby winners
5 - Stuart Baxter is the only coach in PSL history on either side who has won more Soweto Derby matches than Jose Riveiro’s four (all comps).
Most derbies won by a Pirates or Chiefs coach (PSL era only):
5 - Baxter Stuart
4 - Riveiro Jose*
4 - Middendorp Ernst
3 - Krol Ruud, Sredojević Milutin, Zinnbauer Josef
3 - Ertugral Muhsin, Vermezovic Vladimir
On Pirates’ improvement
30 - Pirates have won 30 points from their 12 games this season, the quickest they have ever reached the 30 points mark in PSL history:
Games needed to reach 30 points for Pirates:
12 - 2024/25 (Riveiro)*
14 - 2002/03 (Barreto)
14 - 2004/05 (Papic)
15 - 2012/13 (Palacios + de Sa)
On Sundowns’ winning streak
8 - Sundowns have won eight consecutive league games, the longest winning streak of any team in the top flight this season. It’s the longest winning run by any team since Sundowns won 11 in a row at the start of the 2023/24 season.
Longest winning streaks in PSL history:
15 - Sundowns ending Feb 2023 (Mngqithi/Mokwena and then Mokwena alone)
11 - Sundowns ending December 2023 (Mokwena)
11 - Sundowns April 2007 (Igesund)
On Polokwane City’s rise
28 - Polokwane City have collected 28 points in their 15 games this season, the club’s best tally at the halfway stage of a PSL top-flight campaign. No team in the 30-game era has ever finished outside the Top8 with 28+ points from 15 games.
Most points at the halfway stage for Polokwane City:
2024/25 Polokwane (?)
2018/19 Polokwane (5th)
2014/15 Polokwane (12th)
2016/17 Polokwane (6th)
Five bonus stats
19 - Only Sundowns & Polokwane City have won more points than AmaZulu since Arthur Zwane and Vusumuzi Vilakazi's first league game at the club.
125 - Peter Shalulile is only the second top-flight player in PSL history to score 125 goals across all competitions, after Siyabonga Nomvethe who holds the all-time top-flight record (129)
10 - Richards Bay and Magesi have failed to score in 10 league matches this season, which is more than any other side.
9 - TS Galaxy (W4 D5) are unbeaten in nine league games, the longest unbeaten run of any team in the league this season.
5 - Miguel Cardoso has won each of his first five league games in the PSL, the second Sundowns coach to win each of their first five games after Rulani Mokwena (11).
