Cardoso says individual errors behind Sundowns’ defensive problems

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso says individual mistakes and injuries have contributed to the number of goals his side have conceded at the start of the 2026/27 season.

The Brazilians have made an impressive start to the campaign, competing strongly in both the Betway Premiership and MTN8. They have also reached the MTN8 final and currently lead the league standings after beating Golden Arrows 2-1 in Durban on Sunday afternoon.

However, Sundowns’ results have been accompanied by an unusually high number of goals conceded, with their defence looking vulnerable at times. Cardoso believes the problems have largely come from errors by individual players rather than flaws in the team’s overall defensive structure.

The Portuguese coach also highlighted the impact of injuries, which have led to several changes in his starting XI and forced him to adjust his defensive combinations.

“Look, I think what is obviously important is how we balance those goals. Obviously, that was nice to not suffer in the previous match,” said Cardoso.

“Today we suffered a goal that I believe that I already commented with 10 players on the pitch because the team [Arrows] didn’t have the maturity to put the ball out.

“What I would like people to do, because I see also a lot of people speaking the goals we suffered, but no one took time to go and analyse goal by goal and see why they happened because most of them, they don’t come from collective behaviours. They come from simple mistakes that the players are doing.

Cardoso said Sundowns’ demanding schedule and high tempo had also affected the balance of the team, while several regular players have been unavailable.

“Obviously, I think that is also clear that the intensity we are playing is quite high. The team in the last three or four matches put a high tempo on the pitch. Also, it’s clear that this team lost a lot of direction from the last year.

“Keanu [Cupido] is not on the pitch, Jayden Adams is not on the pitch, Nuno Santos is not on the pitch, Arthur Sales is not on the pitch, and I could say that Khuliso Mudau is not on the pitch. So, there is a lot of changes that also obviously brings the need of finding the connections. It will settle down.

“Obviously, I would like to have less goals suffered in the moment, but I am pretty happy because we are also scoring a lot. And I think if you go back and see, probably we are making one of the best starts from the last many years.

“I don’t want to comment because people will say I speak too much but just go back and take a look and see the stats and the numbers, and you will see the team is going in the right direction.”

Sundowns’ victory over Golden Arrows extended their strong early-season run and kept them at the top of the Betway Premiership. Their progress in the MTN8 has also given Cardoso’s side the opportunity to compete for silverware in the competition’s final.

Although the coach acknowledged that he would prefer his team to concede fewer goals, he remains encouraged by their attacking output and overall results. He said the defensive changes would become more settled as the players regain their connections on the pitch.