Chiefs Miss Out On Top-Eight Spot For Second Successive Season

Kaizer Chiefs missed out on a top-eight finish for the second season in a row after playing out to a goalless draw against Polokwane City in their penultimate Betway Premiership match of the season at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

The stalemate saw Amakhosi register a ninth-place finish in the league, in what has been a rollercoaster of a season for Nasreddine Nabi’s men. Chiefs accumulated 32 points in 28 league outings– four less than what they managed to amass last season.

The Naturena-based outfit recorded its worst-ever finish in Premier Soccer League (PSL) history in the last campaign, finishing in 10th place with 36 points. The disastrous term prompted the appointment of Nabi, whom the club had been courting for a prolonged period.

In contrast to the 2023/24 season, where the Soweto giants missed out on a top-half berth by three points, Amakhosi narrowly missed out by a single point as Richards Bay leapfrogged them into the top eight with a 2-0 victory over SuperSport United.

With swirling reports that the Tunisian mentor’s future is uncertain at Naturena despite guiding the team to its first major trophy in 10 years, it remains to be seen whether he will retain the backing of the hierarchy to remain in the job after a dismal run in the league.

Overall, Nabi won eight matches and drew as many encounters, and suffered 12 defeats in his debut season in the South African top-flight division. Moreover, Chiefs scored 25 goals and conceded 32 goals, keeping seven clean sheets in the process.