Ben Youssef: Chiefs Never Promised To Win League

Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef insisted that at the beginning of the season, Amakhosi never promised to compete for the Betway Premiership, instead focusing on taking each game as a cup match and managing every fixture carefully.

This comes after Amakhosi suffered a disappointing 2-1 loss against Stellenbosch in a league game at FNB Stadium on Tuesday evening. The defeat also marked the second time Stellies beat Chiefs this month, having previously eliminated the Phefeni Glamour Boys in the Nedbank Cup.

Chiefs are currently sitting in fourth place with 30 points from 16 games played, a marked improvement from last season when they were outside the top five at this stage and eventually finished ninth in the league.

“From the first of the season, we repeated the same thing, we are taking each game as a cup game and managing each game,” Ben Youssef said.

“We didn’t say we are competing for the PSL (Betway Premiership), but we are fighting for every game and also trying to win every game. Then, if we do that, we will see at the end of the season which situation we are in.

“Coming from ninth position from last season, I think we have to work. But if we can get the opportunity to fight for a league, then we will do that, and the most important thing is to fight and win games.”

Despite the loss to Stellies, the Tunisian mentor emphasized that Chiefs made good substitutions and managed the game well, even though the players coming from the bench did not perform as expected.

“To do something differently, I think the substitutions were so clear,” Ben Youssef added.

“We made the first substitution by introducing Thabo Cele and resting Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, then Mduduzi Shabalala for Ethan Chislet. We knew that Ngcobo and Ethan were not part of the team for the long term, and they couldn’t finish 90 minutes.

“However, they did a lot of work in the first half, and they were tired, so we had to make substitutions. Another substitution was for Ashley Du Preez, which is the same thing as Ngcobo and Ethan.

“Like I always say every time, there is no right or wrong substitution, and the player needs to try. When we make a substitution, we expect some performances from the players, and if they perform well, then they will make the substitution right, and if they don’t perform, then the substitution is not good.

“After the game, I think everyone can analyse the game, and I think we managed the game well. Unfortunately, the impact players who came from the bench didn’t have a good performance, and we have to analyse.”

Chiefs will now shift their focus to another challenging league game against their biggest rivals, Orlando Pirates, in a highly anticipated Soweto Derby at a sold-out FNB Stadium on Saturday.

This will be the first meeting between the Soweto giants this season, after Chiefs defeated Pirates in the final of the Nedbank Cup in May 2025.