Allende Hails Costa As The PSL And Africa’s Best
Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Marcelo Allende has lauded his teammate Lucas Ribeiro Costa as the best player in the PSL and, in his opinion, in Africa.
This praise came after Costa scored twice as Sundowns equaled their record of 73 points from last season with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Magesi in their final game of the 2024/25 season at Loftus Stadium on Sunday.
Sundowns entered this match having already clinched the league title on Wednesday with a 3-0 win against Chippa United at Buffalo City Stadium.
In that 3-0 victory, Sundowns became the first team to score 100 goals across all competitions this season, a first in the PSL era.
Iqraam Rayners’ shot in the box took a fortunate deflection off Costa’s legs to open the scoring in the fourth minute.
The Brazilian, a strong contender for PSL Footballer of the Season, moved one goal ahead of Rayners to 15, with the former Stellenbosch forward on 14.
Ribeiro almost returned the favor to Rayners twice in quick succession. However, the former Stellenbosch striker’s header struck the upright, and another shot when through on goal lacked power, allowing Elvis Chipezeze to make a save for Magesi.
Ribeiro doubled the lead in the 22nd minute from a well-executed set-piece. As Magesi players tracked back to cover the goal after Neo Maema played a decoy from the free kick, it left Ribeiro unmarked on the edge of the box, where Marcelo Allende found him with a pass.
Left with space, Ribeiro curled the ball past a rooted Chipezeze to score his 16th league goal of the season, putting him two ahead of his strike partner Rayners and seemingly securing the PSL Golden Boot award.
“This man is, for me, the best player,” said Allende as he collected another man-of-the-match award.
“In the PSL, and I think in Africa. And I’m happy for this [the award], but I think he deserves more than me, and he also deserves the Player of the Season award.
“So happy for these results. I think we finished strong, and with this performance, we showed where our strengths lie, and we are very happy about this.”
With this win, Sundowns equaled the 73 points they accumulated last season under former coach Rulani Mokwena.
This season’s achievement came despite having three points deducted and playing 28 matches, unlike the usual 30, after Royal AM was expelled by the league for failing to fulfill their league obligations. This meant all points earned against and claimed by Royal AM were expunged, effectively relegating them as they finished at the bottom of the table.
Sundowns now turn their attention to claiming their second CAF Champions League title, as they host Pyramids in the first leg of the final at Loftus Stadium next Saturday.
