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Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs coach Giovanni Solinas gave high praise to Khama Billiat on the weekend, saying he is the best player in South Africa.
Billiat scored Amakhosi's first goal in their 2-2 MTN semi-final first leg draw with SuperSport in Pretoria on Sunday, and also provided the assist for Leonardo Castro's goal.
A handful of games into a new chapter of his career at Chiefs after signing from Mamelodi Sundowns, the Zimbabwean has already shown that he promises to be a crucial addition to the Glamour Boys squad.
"Khama is the best player in PSL in my opinion," Solinas said in Attridgeville on Sunday.
"I like Khama, I like Castro. We have two very good strikers. I am very happy that Khama scored today, the goal made him more confident."
For the Italian coach, Sunday's match was very much a game of two halves; in the opening stanza he felt his men were found wanting in certain areas, before putting in a much improved second half display.
"The first half we did not play very well. The players did not play brave, they played like they were afraid," he said.
"But in the second half we played our football. They played a passing game and played with courage.
"We scored, we created a lot of chances. I am very happy, and in my opinion, we played a brilliant game.
"In the second half SuperSport changed their formation. They changed the shape. They played 4-4-2 and they put a second striker in the centre, so in this situation we needed more cover in the centre.
"I spoke with my midfielder and said we need to protect our central defender. They did a very good job.
"In the first half we lost our shape," Solinas elaborated.
"We lost our space. SuperSport exploited this space. The defence was very soft.
"In the second half the team changed their mentality. They played very well."
