A season review – 50 STATS TO RELIVE THE PSL SEASON

The 29th PSL season ended this week, with Sundowns wrapping upo an 8th consecutive title with weeks to play. What better way to relibve the season than by looking at the best facts and stats month-by-month, including stats on PSL teams in CAF and Bafana Bafana’s games played during the season. Enjoy.

September

2012 – Nasreddine Nabi became the first Kaizer Chiefs coach to win his first league game at the club since Stuart Baxter in 2012.

5 – Five teams (Sundowns, Pirates, Chiefs, Arrows and Polokwane) won their opening two league games of a PSL top-flight campaign – only the 2nd time in PSL history that this has happened (also 2002/3)

4 – Sundowns (8-0) won a two-legged CAF tie by an aggregate victory margin of 8+ for the 4th time, more than any other PSL side.

3 – AmaZulu lost all three opening league matches in a PSL campaign for the very first time.

October

1 – Ronwen Williams became the first goalkeeper to be nominated for the Yashin Trophy while playing their club football outside Europe.

10 – Polokwane won 10 points in their opening five games, their joint-beast start at that stage of a PSL top-flight season (also in 2019/20).

0 – Against the same team, Sundowns failed to record a shot on target in a league game for the first time since January 2020 v Pirates.

4 – At the end of October, Chiefs had gone without a clean sheet in each of their first four league games for the first time in PSL history.

9 – Relebohile Mofokeng created 9 chances in Pirates’ victory over AmaZulu, the highest on record by any player in a league game since we have this data available (2020+).

1 – For the first time in PSL top-flight history, more than one team won their opening four league games of the season.

November

7 – Pirates had won their opening seven league games, equalling the club’s best-ever winning start and winning run in PSL history.

61 – At the start of November, Jose Rivéiro won his 61st game for Pirates, going past Ruud Krol (60) as the coach with the most wins for the club in the PSL era.

1 – Magesi became the first PSL-era club to win any domestic South African Cup in the season immediately after promotion.

3 – Sundowns lost their third consecutive Cup final (2023 MTN8, 2024 Nedbank & Carling Cups).

2 – Clinton Larsen won a League Cup final against Sundowns for the second time (also 2012 at Celtic).

50 – Ronwen Williams won his 50th cap for the national team, becoming the 30th player to do so.

December

9 – By December, more than one team had won at least 9 of their opening 10 games of the season – the first time sich happened in PSL history,

27 – Pirates had 27 points after their 10th game (P10 W9 D0 L1), their most at that stage in PSL history.

8 – Pirates beat Marumo 8-1, only the fourth time in PSL history a team won by 7-goals in a league game.

12 – Sundowns were top of the league on Christmas Day for a 12th time; the most of all PSL sides.

1 – In his 100th appearance for Sundowns just before Christmas, Ronwen Williams received a red card for the very first time in his club career.

January 2025

7 – In January, TS Galaxy’s 7-0 win over CR Vasco Da Gama became the biggest margin of victory in a Nedbank Cup game this season.

38 – Sandile Mthethwa became the 38th player to bag a hat-trick in the FA Cup (PSL-era BobSave/ABSA/Nedbank Cups), but only the second defender to do so.

4 – In Khomotjo Lekoloane, Devin Titus, Chumani Butsaka, and Ibraheem Jabaar, Stellenbosch saw four different players score for them in a top-flight league game for the first time (winning 5-0 v Amazulu).

25 – Lucas Ribeiro scored his 25th goal for Sundowns, becoming the first Brazilian player in PSL history to reach 25 goals across competitions.

75 – In mid-January, Gabadinho Mhango became the first Malawian player to reach 75 goals in all competitions in PSL history.

20y 2m 26d – Relebohile Mofokeng became the youngest PSL player in CAF history to score in three consecutive Champions League matches (20y 2m 26d).

3 – Orlando Pirates beat Al Ahly away for a third time, more away wins than any other PSL side.

February

22 – Sundowns scored 22 goals in the month of February, the most goals by a PSL top-flight team in a calendar month.

4×4 – Sundowns became the first team to score 4+ goals in 4 league games in the same month.

51 – Sundowns became the fastest team in PSL history to reach 50 points in a season (19 games)

36 – Pirates won their 36th point in February, a record for the club halfway through a 30-game season.

1000 – Gavin Hunt took charge of his 1000th game in the top-flight, becoming the first coach in PSL history to reach the milestone.

March

3 – In March, Lucas Ribeiro won the Player of the Month award for a third time.

2 – At the end of March, Chippa United won back-to-back league games for the first time in the season.

3 – Golden Arrows completed a league double over Kaizer Chiefs for a third time (also 2002/3 & 2021/22).

21 – Chiefs took 21 shots in their game vs. Richards Bay in mid-March, their most without finding the net in a league game since January 2023.

4 – Stellenbosch won their fourth consecutive away league games for the first time since their 2019 promotion.

April

10 – Keletso Makgalwa provided his 10th assists in the league, more than any other player.

20+168 – Mohau Nkota (20 years 168 days) became the youngest ever player to score four away goals in a single CAF campaign for a PSL side.

3 – Sundowns reached their third CAF Champions League final, more than any other South African side.

6 – Owen da Gama became just the third coach to win six consecutive home league games post-lockdown (also Manqoba Mngqithi & Rulani Mokwena).

20y 290d – At 20 years & 290 days, Wandile Duba became the youngest Chiefs player to score in the semi-finals of  the PSL-era BobSave /ABSA/Nedbank Cups.

May

904 – Sundowns completed 904 passes in their league game vs. Magesi (out of 961), the highest recorded figure in a PSL league game since we have full passing data available (2020+).

1 – Chiefs won the Nedbank Cup, ending a 10-year trophy drought that started in 2015.

1 – South Africa won the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations for the very first time, beating Morocco in the final.

24 – Sundowns set a new PSL top-flight record for wins by a team in one season (24).

100% – Sundowns became the first team in PSL history to win all their home league games in a season.

10 – Sundowns won home & away against their 10th different opponent, setting a new record for league doubles by a team in a PSL season (previous best was 8).

61 – Pirates won their 61st point in May, their most in a season since 2002/3, when they won the title.

Congratulations Sundowns!