Amakhosi bank on Sirino magic

Miguel describes ex-Brazilian as Chiefs' 'good weapon' in epic tie

Sihle Ndebele Sports journalist
Gastón Sirino of Kaizer Chiefs celebrates scoring against AmaZulu during their Premier ship match on Wednesday.
Gastón Sirino of Kaizer Chiefs celebrates scoring against AmaZulu during their Premier ship match on Wednesday.
Image: Darren Stewart

Kaizer Chiefs defender Inacio Miguel views his playmaker teammate Gaston Sirino as  a "good weapon to attack" his former side Mamelodi Sundowns.

Chiefs host defending league champions Sundowns at FNB Stadium tomorrow (3pm). Going into this game, Sirino has been Chiefs' livewire in their opening two league fixtures against Marumo Gallants and AmaZulu.

In their 2-1 win over Marumo, Sirino managed an assist, while he scored and racked up another assist in the 3-1 victory over AmaZulu in Durban midweek, where Miguel also achieved the same feat of scoring and assisting. Miguel was also man of the match.

"Sirino had a good time at Sundowns. We are lucky to have him on our side and he will be a good weapon for us to attack Sundowns. I think he's already settled well with us. In the first two games he was very helpful and I hope he will continue with his good form,'' Miguel said at a presser, held at Vodacom World in Midrand yesterday.

The Angolan international also told of how his goal against Usuthu was inspired by Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães' one he netted in their thrilling 2-all draw away to their title rivals Manchester City in English Premiership last Sunday.

"I will be honest with you, before the game we had a meeting and coach [Nasreddine] Nabi and his staff showed us the goal of Arsenal against Manchester City and I did a perfect copy of that and that's why the bench celebrated that goal they way they did,'' Miguel said.

I understand that for the supporters it can be different ... they are more emotional but as players it's a game like any other.
Chiefs defender Inacio Miguel

Miguel also suggested that they will play the game and not the occasion against the Brazilians. "I have massive respect for Sundowns but we have to face this game like a normal one,'' the Chiefs centre-back said.

"I understand that for the supporters it can be different ... they are more emotional but as players it's a game like any other. We will play with the same mentality as we've done in our previous games.''

Miguel explained why their performance dropped drastically against Usuthu in the second half after scoring three goals in the first period, cautioning his teammate to "not even blink" against Sundowns.

"It's natural that when you are winning 3-0 you drop a little bit the rhythm and the pace. Against Sundowns we must not even blink our eyes because they punish you even for a minimal mistake,'' Miguel noted.

"We will try by all means not to repeat that mistake ... the lesson is, even if you're winning 5-0, you have to understand that the game is played for 90 minutes and every minute counts."

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