Mamelodi Sundowns unleashed their South American attacking trio as Lucas Ribeiro scored a hat-trick to stretch the Brazilians' undefeated record to 40 matches with a 3-0 win over AmaZulu at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday.
DStv Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns unleashed their South American attacking trio as Lucas Ribeiro scored a hat-trick to stretch the Brazilians’ undefeated record to 40 matches with a 3-0 win over AmaZulu at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday.
All the goals came in the second half when Sundowns’ relentless pressure finally paid off and Ribeiro punished the visitors on three occasions and subsequently went 12 points clear at the top of the standings.
Masandawana started the contest on the front foot with Gaston Sirino going close to opening the scoring with two efforts that went wide in the first 15 minutes.
AmaZulu mostly relied on catching the home side on the counter-attack and would have been pleased to go into the halftime break with the match still goalless.
It all changed after the interval though when Ribeiro opened his account just three minutes into the second half, pouncing on the rebound when goalkeeper Olwethu Mzimela could only parry Sirino’s low shot.
The Brazilian would double the lead 10 minutes later, getting on the end of a cutback from Lebohang Maboe before beating Mzimela.
The final nail in the coffin was delivered within 12 minutes from full-time as Ribeiro completed his hat-trick after receiving a sublime pass from Bongani Zungu.
The win sees Sundowns stretch their unbeaten record to an incredible 40 matches.
A hat-trick from Ribeiro sees Masandawana extend their lead at the top of the table!👆
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) February 27, 2024
Mamelodi Sundowns (48', 58', 78' Ribeiro) 3⃣➖0⃣ AmaZulu #Sundowns #DownsLive #DStvPrem pic.twitter.com/rOy1v7lEc1
