Former Mamelodi Sundowns darling Sibusiso Vilakazi was left impressed by fellow attacking midfielder Patrick Maswanganyi, who was on the score sheet during Orlando Pirates' hammering of Stade d'Abidjan.
Pirates continued with their impressive showing in this season's CAF Champions League campaign, convincingly beating the Ivorian giants at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
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Patrick Maswanganyi finds the net in style. ??#TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/qXyqgom2ix
— TotalEnergies CAFCL CAFCC ?? (@CAFCLCC) January 4, 2025
For Maswanganyi, it was another evening of intense scrutiny as he donned the side's number 10 shirt, allocated to him for continental matches.
The move by Pirates to hand 'Tito', as he is fondly known, the famous shirt has divided opinion since the start of the season.
However, the mercurial midfielder did not miss a step and pulled all the strings.
For Vilakazi, who boats five league titles under his belt in a glittering career, it was a display of class from the Tembisa native.
"I think I've seen this move before when he was at Bafana Bafana also," Vilakazi said while reviewing Maswanganyi's goal on SuperSport TV.
"Being able to do that, he is a man full of confidence and I'm enjoying him at this point in time."
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The clever finish was only a second goal of the season for Maswanganyi, who will be looking to recapture his 2023/24 form that yielded 10 goals and 12 assists in 40 appearances across all competitions.
Meanwhile, Pirates return to action on Wednesday when do battle with Cape Town City, who are under the tutelage of their former coach Muhsin Ertugral, at DHL Stadium.