The finals record that will be giving Mamelodi Sundowns fans sleepless nights

[p]While [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/orlando-pirates/p4SF9EMI/"]Pirates[/a] aim for an unprecedented fifth title in a row in the competition, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mamelodi-sundowns/lxZ6Bzh6/"]Sundowns[/a] have plenty of scars down the years, which belies their extraordinary success in league football.[/p][p]Since their first final appearance in 1988, they have been to the decider 11 times but lost seven of those.[/p][p]Their four victories are the third-highest total in the history of the competition, but well behind [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/kaizer-chiefs/fFZ2CGx0/"]Kaizer Chiefs[/a] (15) and Pirates (14).[/p][p]It means Sundowns have won a little over one in three of the finals they have been to, with those successes coming in 1988, 1990, 2007 and most recently 2021.[/p][p]But even most of those have not been straightforward victories. In 1988, both legs against Arcadia Shepherds ended 1-1, forcing a replay, which Sundowns won 1-0.[/p][embed guid="8d396b7f-c481-4806-a383-01a164a316d9" url="https://x.com/Masandawana/status/2106099789893087537?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]In 1990 they brushed aside [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bidvest-wits/OGvCsoOE/"]Wits University[/a] to win 2-0 and 3-0 for a 5-0 aggregate success, while in 2007 they edged Pirates 1-0 and in 2021 needed penalties to beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cape-town-city/l8K0DYSm/"]Cape Town City[/a].[/p][p]You could say there was only one of their previous 11 finals where they really dominated.[/p][p]Their seven final defeats are the most by any club in the competition; no team has known more heartache in the MTN8.[/p][p]Four of their finals have gone to penalties, with just that single success against City. They lost shootouts to Chiefs (2001, 2008) and Pirates (2023).[/p][p]So you have to go back 19 years for Sundowns’ last MTN8 final win in 90 minutes, which is extraordinary given their dominance of local football.[/p][p]The biggest final loss for the side was a 3-0 defeat to Wits in 2016.[/p][p] [/p][infobox id="584d9683-f419-4696-8cb3-c155213092a0" /]