Miguel Cardoso's assessment on Monnapule Saleng after Mamelodi Sundowns debut

The former Orlando Pirates midfielder came off the bench and made an immediate impression, injecting pace and directness into Sundowns' attack. Saleng played a key role in the second goal, creating the opportunity for Iqraam Rayners, who went on to score a brace in a crucial win for the Brazilians.

Cardoso highlighted the importance of having dynamic wide players capable of unsettling defenders, especially late in matches.

"It's clear that teams need players that can be aggressive towards defenders, and those players need to start, but a team like Sundowns also needs players that do that from the bench in moments where teams are tired or broken," Cardoso said in his post-match press conference.

"Saleng did well. He is a player that has quality, a player that wins his own duels and can play left or right wing.

"Unfortunately, I only started working with him because he was injured, but he made a fantastic recovery; we don't want to put pressure on his comeback. I just hope he also understands everything moving forward because we support him very much."

Cardoso also reserved praise for Rayners, who delivered a clinical performance in front of goal.

"We are all happy. I think he had difficult moments. Let's hope he understands everything so he can move forward in the right direction. We support all our strikers. Lebo Mothiba has been doing an important job from the moment he played against Pirates, showing how he helped the team to press," he added.

The victory saw Sundowns move level on 41 points with Orlando Pirates in the title race. Cardoso has now challenged his side to maintain their momentum when they host Golden Arrows in Pretoria on Wednesday evening.