South African football giants Kaizer Chiefs made a triumphant start under new Tunisian manager Noureddine Nabi on Saturday, overcoming an early deficit to secure a 2-1 victory over Marumo Gallants in Bloemfontein.
Sekela Sithole put Marumo Gallants ahead with a goal just eight minutes in front of a full house of 45,000 spectators on the opening day of the 2024-2025 Premiership season.
Mduduzi Shabalala equalised for Chiefs in the 17th minute, and shortly after Marumo Gallants were reduced to ten men following a red card for Joseph Malongoane, 18-year-old Mfundo Vilakazi scored the decisive goal in the 79th minute.
Nabi was lured to Johannesburg after a season with Moroccan side FAR Rabat, where he guided the team to second place in both the league and cup.
The challenge for Nabi is considerable, as Chiefs, South Africa's most popular club, have not won a trophy since their Premiership title triumph under English coach Stuart Baxter in 2015.
