Last season’s title rivals resume battle Khoza defends Chiefs over Caf

A FEW months after duelling for the Premier League title, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City have yet to rediscover last season’s killer consistency and both have a point to prove in tomorrow’s clash at White Hart Lane.

With Leicester flailing in midtable, having won three of their opening nine games, and Spurs having drawn their last two league encounters, both will crave a morale-boosting victory in north London.

For Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs, who sit fifth in the table but just one point off the summit, victory will refuel a title challenge that has stuttered with draws to West Bromwich Albion and Bournemouth in their last two league matches.

A defeat to Liverpool, albeit with a much-changed side, in the League Cup fourth round on Tuesday, left them without a win since the start of the month when their title credentials looked rock solid after a 2-0 home victory over Manchester City.

For Claudio Ranieri’s champions, tomorrow’s encounter will give them an opportunity to win back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since April and fire up a title defence that has looked forlorn in the opening months of the season.

Heavy defeats to Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool, added to a narrow opening-day loss to Hull City, have left them nine points off the pace and looking a shadow of the side that relentlessly pursued wins against the odds last season.

With only one point separating the top five teams, a number of sides will have their eye on climbing to the summit over the weekend.

Manchester City are heading the pack, courtesy of a better goal difference over Arsenal and Liverpool.

Yet Pep Guardiola’s side visit West Bromwich Albion looking to win their first match in seven in all competitions after they were knocked out of the League Cup by rivals Manchester United 1-0 on Wednesday.

United manager Jose Mourinho looks to win his first league match in four and rebound from last weekend’s dismal 4-0 defeat. – Reuters PREMIER Soccer League (PSL) chairman Irvin Khoza came to the defence of Kaizer Chiefs and said that, contrary to popular belief‚ the glamour Naturena club did take the African Champions League seriously.

Chiefs have over the years often faced accusations of harbouring a lacklustre attitude towards the Confederation of African Football (Caf) competition. But Khoza said nothing could be further from the truth.

“Chiefs take this tournament very seriously‚” he said.

“[Chiefs chairman] Kaizer [Motaung] has always spent money to charter flights [for his players] and this comes to millions of rands.

“Those kinds of trips [to various destinations on the continent] are not sponsored.

“It is not easy on the continent. It is very‚ very [difficult].”

Khoza said South African teams had to be resilient and needed to adapt quickly to conditions on the continent‚ or they would not get very far in Caf competitions.

“Sundowns have shown everybody that you can earn respect if you win the Champions League.”

Orlando Pirates chairman Khoza said watching Sundowns owner Patrice Motsepe clutching the Champions League trophy amid wild celebration at OR Tambo International when the Brazilians returned to South Africa on Wednesday was an emotional moment for him.

He said the scenes turned back the clock to 21 years ago when Pirates returned to South Africa after winning the selfsame silverware.

“In 1995 Patrice Motsepe’s father held this trophy high when [Orlando] Pirates came back from Ivory Coast [after winning it].

“Today [Augustine] Motsepe’s son is holding this trophy high 21 years later.

“For me, it is very important because this achievement has restored the integrity and confidence in the PSL as a top league on the continent.”