Evaluating: How Sundowns Are Shooting Their Way To Another Title

Log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns are unbeaten in the domestic league this season thanks to their attacking and defensive structures put in place by their coaching staff. Coach Rulani Mokwena’s team leads the league with 33 points from their opening 11 games. They are seven points ahead with 3 games in hand of the nearest competitor SuperSport. How good has their attack been?

Team Shooting

From a team perspective, the defending champions average 13 shots per match. This is only bettered by Tshwane rivals SuperSport United (14 per game) and equaled by Kaizer Chiefs (also 13). Their proficiency in front of goal has been helped by their shooting locations – 59% of their shots coming from inside the box, whilst SuperSport United take slightly more inside the box (62%). Both conversions also partly explain why the two teams have scored the most goals of all teams in the league.

Individual Shooting

However, Masandawana have the edge in the variety of players taking shots for the team. As of 18 December, they have had 25 different shot takers this campaign so far. It is not a surprise that the top three in shot production are this season’s top scorer Lucas Ribeiro Costa, last season’s Golden Boot winner Peter Shalulile, and reigning Player of the Year Teboho Mokoena.

Key Players With High-shot Production

Lucas Ribeiro Costa joined Sundowns in the off-season and has been the club’s top shooter in the DSTV Premiership. In his eight appearances, he has found the back of the net seven times. He is the first player to score seven goals in Sundowns’ first 10 league games of a season during his debut PSL campaign.

25 – shots by Costa this season
11 – shots on target by Costa (of the 25)
44% – shot on-target rate (one of the highest in the league this season)

Similar to Namibian striker Peter Shalulile, Costa is well-versed in shooting from inside the box, where the chance of conversion is at its highest. The image below shows how the overwhelming number of their efforts is in the box, perhaps also as a result of their position on the pitch.

19 – shots taken by Shalulile this season
10 – shots on target by Shalulile (of the 19)
52% – shot on target rate for Shalulile

Mokoena meanwhile, also makes the top three for shooters in the team.The midfielder’s ranking this high might surprise a few as Mokoena is more often associated with his pin-point passing, range of passing, and ability to see space behind the defensive line. He certainly is not afraid to shoot as is evident that he makes the list here for his club, although most of his attempts have come from range, as he has done in past seasons.