Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has singled out Lucas Ribeiro Costa as the player most burdened by fatigue within the squad.
Despite carrying this fatigue, Ribeiro proved decisive, scoring the only goal in Sundowns' tightly contested 1-0 win against Kaizer Chiefs in their weekend Betway Premiership encounter at Lucas Moripe Stadium.
This victory, combined with Orlando Pirates' unexpected loss to Marumo Gallants, propelled Sundowns to an 18-point lead in the league standings.
Cardoso explained that the Brazilian forward's “suffering” from fatigue stems from his consistently high work rate.
The Portuguese tactician concluded by voicing his hope that the influential 26-year-old will commit his long-term future to the club.
CARDOSO HEAPS PRAISE ON LUCAS RIBEIRO
“Lucas is no doubt a quality player, but he’s also a player that needs freshness,” said Cardoso.
“I think he’s a player that is very explosive and to be explosive you need freshness.
“And he’s trying to cope with the effort that he’s been doing, and the best way we’re trying to let him be as more to recover as much as possible between matches, but it has been very tough for him.
“Because explosive players are the ones that suffer more from fatigue, and he lives from these explosive actions.
“And I think he’s doing less numbers of explosive actions due to the fact that he’s tired.
“But once he does, he does it in quality and today he had a couple of them and two fantastic individual tactical execution, he made a wonderful goal. He really put it in the right way.
“I hope he makes more years in the club, but I also hope one day he can express himself in a higher level of course.
“A coach always wants best for the players, and I always tell them, ‘I love to work with whoever you are, but in the end, if you can go for better, just go please’!”
