Sundowns have likely ceded the league title to Orlando Pirates for the first time in nine years as their surprise 3-2 defeat leaves them three points ahead of The Buccaneers, who have two games in hand.
Pirates’ vastly superior goal difference means they need to win just one of their remaining games against Durban City (home) or Orbit College (away) to lift the trophy for the first time since 2012.
Cardoso was trying to make the point that this league campaign was nearly a great one, but by most metrics it does not compare to 2024/25, asking the question: is this a team going backwards?
They have made the CAF Champions League final in both seasons and perhaps their bizarre form over the last few weeks has been because their minds are on their showdown with AS FAR, with the first leg in Pretoria on Sunday.
They could be forgiven if that is the case, as this is the trophy they really wanted at the start of the season.
But looking at their domestic league numbers between 2024/25 and 2025/26 is worrying for fans, especially as the former was a 28-game season.
League points
They managed 73 points in 28 games in 2024/25 (2.61 points per game) compared to 68 in 30 matches this season (2.27). That is almost half a point per game fewer.
True, they have had a packed schedule of late, but it was the same the season before. People have short memories.
For whatever reason, they have been nowhere near as consistent in 2025/26.
League wins
They managed to win 24 of their 28 games (86%) in 2024/25 compared to 20 of their 30 in 2025/26 (67%). That is the big difference: an inability to kill off games.
Last season they were involved in just one draw; this campaign they had eight. That inability to turn those draws into wins was a big issue.
League goals scored
Sundowns had been seriously lagging in this department, but nine goals in their last two games did boost their tally.
They managed 57 goals in their 30 games (1.90 per game), but that is shy of last season when they scored a 30-game record of 65 goals in 28 matches (2.32).
It is hard to understand why, as man for man they appear to have a better attack this season.
They were kept scoreless in three games this season compared to two last term, so not a big difference, but generally they had significantly fewer goals in them.
League goals conceded
Sundowns conceded 13 in 28 games last season and 21 in 30 this term.
Remarkably, seven of those goals conceded, or 33% of their season total, came in the last two games of the campaign. In fact, they came in a 105-minute spell, a little over the equivalent of a 90-minute game.
Maybe it was because they were chasing goals to close the goal difference on Pirates, but it was highly unusual for this Sundowns team of recent years.
It was the most goals they have conceded in a single campaign since 2019/20.
Their goal difference of +36 is the joint lowest since 2020/21 (+35).
