Brazilians v history: Sundowns bag earliest-ever PSL title, five records still there for the taking

Mamelodi Sundowns were crowned DStv Premiership champions for a sixth consecutive season, doing so without having to kick a ball in the league over the weekend.

It was a day where all the necessary permutations kicked in on the South African football league front, while the Brazilians took care of CAF Champions League business when they entertained Coton Sport in their final Group B match, defeating the Cameroonian club 2-1.

The Tshwane giants had already qualified for the quarter-finals of Africa's premier club competition.

Three-and-a-half hours before their continental clash at Loftus Versfeld, their Tshwane neighbours and rivals, SuperSport United, came face-to-face against Chippa United.

Mamelodi Sundowns - 13 (1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/2000, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2013/14, 2015/16, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23)

Kaizer Chiefs - 4 (2003/04, 2004/05, 2012/13, 2014/15)

Orlando Pirates - 4 (2000/01, 2002/03, 2010/11, 2011/12)

SuperSport United - 3 (2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10)

Manning Rangers - 1 (1996/97)

Santos - 1 (2000/01)

Bidvest Wits - 1 (2016/17)

Going into their match, SuperSport were stationed in second place on the league standings and victory over the Chilli Boys was the only way to delay the inevitable winning of the league for the Brazilians.

It was never a matter of "will Sundowns win the league?", but rather when Sundowns would win the league.

The latter was made official on Saturday when Chippa held SuperSport to a 1-1 draw in the Eastern Cape, causing Gavin Hunt's charges to drop to third on the log with an inferior goal difference to Orlando Pirates in second.

The teams to finish in the top two qualify for the CAF Champions League next year.

Not only did runaway leaders Sundowns win the league for a