Fernando Da Cruz insists Kaizer Chiefs are not yet on the same level as Mamelodi Sundowns despite holding the CAF Champions League winners to a 1-1 draw.
Langelihle Phili opened the scoring for Chiefs at FNB Stadium in the 63rd minute before substitute Cassius Mailula equalised 12 minutes later.
Despite the encouraging result, Da Cruz believes there remains a significant gap between Amakhosi and Sundowns, stressing that comparisons between the two clubs are premature.
Da Cruz opted to use a more defensive 3-5-2 formation for this Betway Premiership tie that Miguel Cardoso’s side struggled to truly break down.
Amakhosi remain unbeaten in the league from their opening three games of the new season after kicking off their season with wins over Kruger United and Sekhukhune United.
Speaking after the draw, the head coach explained it will take time for his team to reach their full potential.
“If you want to compare Chiefs and Sundowns, you can’t compare. Sundowns players have been playing together for six or seven years, and here we are at Chiefs where we arrived one-and-a-half months ago,” he said in the Citizen.
“Let us have time and we will improve step by step. It has been a good start to the championship (Premiership), but there is still a lot of work to do, especially in offence.”
“For me it was a high level match. I have had the opportunity to play Wydad and Raja (when he was coach at AS FAR in Morocco) and today was a match of that level,” added Da Cruz.
“Today for us it was a Champions League match and we played like a team in the Champions League.”
Chiefs are next in league action away against Richards Bay on Wednesday.