A hat-trick by Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro gave Mamelodi Sundowns a 3-0 victory over AmaZulu to extend an unbeaten South African Premiership run to 40 matches.
Signed from Belgian club Beveren last year, the 25-year-old forward netted after 48, 57 and 78 minutes in Pretoria to give the home team a 12-point lead at the top of the table.
Sundowns last lost in the league early in the 2022-2023 season, 2-1 by neighbours SuperSport. "We had first half chances to score, but did not take them. At half-time the coach told us to be patient and the goals would come," said Ribeiro after receiving the man-of-the-match award.
His treble against 10th-placed AmaZulu made him the leading Premiership scorer this season with 10 goals, two more than Khanyiso Mayo of Cape Town City. Ribeiro is only the second player, after Nigerian Augustine Kwem for AmaZulu, to score a Premiership hat-trick this season.