With neutrals not giving Kaizer Chiefs a chance against Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup, head coach Nasreddine Nabi has opened up on the difference in level between the sides.
Chiefs are on a three-match losing streak against Sundowns in all competitions this season, ahead of the Nedbank Cup semi-finals on Sunday.
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With the suggestion that Amakhosi are way off the Tshwane giants in terms of quality, neutrals are not convinced they can reach the final.
However, Nabi believes the two league games were very close and suggested they lost in the Carling Knockout due to fatigue, after they had only two days of rest from their previous game, a 2-2 draw against Magesi FC back in October.
"We played four times against them (including pre-season). (In the 4-0 loss), it was a fitness problem. We didn't get time for recovery. If you try to analyse the (league) games, at FNB it was 2-1, the second game in Pretoria we lost 1-0," Nabi said in the pre-match press conference.
"The level between the two teams was near. I think the first game when we lost 2-1, even if you don't want to accept, it was a referee problem. We got an opportunity to score, we scored second goal, the referee did not accept it. Maybe if there was VAR, it would've finished 2-2.
"The second game in Pretoria, we got three opportunities, they got two opportunities. They were lucky they scored one of them, we were unlucky we didn't score," explained Nabi.
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