OPINION: Sundowns’ Ribeiro is in a class of his own

When Mamelodi Sundowns forward Lucas Ribeiro turned on his heels in the 27th minute at Loftus Stadium, he probably couldn’t believe his eyes.

The dodgy surface opened up in front of him and the Brazilians’ Brazilian just carried on running … and running until he had Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine in his sights.

The finish was unerring, drilled into the bottom corner of Chaine’s net, to put Sundowns 2-0 up and cruising.

Sundowns and Ribeiro out of sight

Ribeiro now has nine goals and six assists in 13 Premiership appearances for Sundowns this season

The title race may well be out of sight for Pirates, with the seven-time reigning champions Masandawana now nine points clear and ever more leaving the Buccaneers eating dust.

Pirates were given a lesson in seizing the moment by Sundowns in a first half in which they barely registered a shot in anger at Ronwen Williams.

When Jose Riveiro’s side finally woke up in the second half, it was Ribeiro who stood firmly on the flame of their candle of hope.

Deon Hotto had just halved the deficit when Ribeiro pounced on the ball on the edge of the box, sending another clinical finish past Chaine.

Ribeiro seems a guarantee for Footballer of the Season after missing out to teammate Ronwen Williams last season. The sixth assist was fairly innocuous as Ribeiro played a simple pass to Teboho Mokeona, who slammed in a brilliant finish to put Sundowns 4-1 up.

‘We are the best’

This was not just a hammering to say ‘hey pretenders, we are still here and determined to win eight in a row’. It was more a hammering to say ‘we are the best and there is no chance for the rest.’

And Ribeiro, more than anyone, rammed home the statement.