Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has likened their title fight with Mamelodi Sundowns to the one between Arsenal and Manchester City in the English Premier League, highlighting how it has heightened excitement around SA football.
> “If you can see the Premier League in England, Manchester City and Arsenal are fighting; I think it’s the same fight that we see in the PSL.
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> — Abdeslam Ouaddou, Orlando Pirates coach
Pirates put in a professional display to [beat Stellenbosch 2-0](https://www.sowetan.co.za/sport/soccer/2026-05-05-pirates-do-the-job-against-stellies-to-keep-pressure-on-sundowns/) at Athlone Stadium on Tuesday night, narrowing the gap between them and Sundowns to two points with three games to play. Evidence Makgopa and Patrick Maswanganyi were on target for Bucs against Stellies.
Sundowns hope to stretch their lead at the summit when they face [Kaizer Chiefs](https://www.sowetan.co.za/sport/soccer/2026-05-05-listen-cele-warns-chiefs-might-spoil-downs-party/) at Loftus Versveld on Wednesday night.
“If you can see the Premier League in England, Manchester City and Arsenal are fighting (the former enjoys a five-point lead, while City have a game in hand), I think it’s the same fight that we see in the PSL,” Ouaddou said.
“It creates a lot of interest for the fans in the country. It’s not funny when you know the champions 10 games before the end of the season. As a fan, if you know the champions at the beginning of the season, you lose interest. This season we’ve tried to bring more competitiveness... my boys have been doing really well.”
The Pirates coach suggested that the title race will go down to the wire this season. “Let’s see what will be the result at the end of the season, but the most important thing is to give this competitiveness to the PSL until the end,” Ouaddou said.
“You don’t know what will happen to the rival (referring to Sundowns) in the next few matches, so for us the dream is still here. It’s possible to fight until the last game, and maybe the champions will be decided on the last day.”