Their one major disappointment will be the CAF Champions League, where they exited in the second round after reaching the semi-finals the season before, while a loss to second-tier Casric Stars in the Nedbank Cup was also a surprise.
But there has been much to celebrate as they dethroned Mamelodi Sundowns as domestic champions and claimed a first league title in 14 years, their 10th overall, leaving them just two behind local rivals Kaizer Chiefs and eight adrift of Sundowns.
Here are the numbers behind their campaign.
0 – Pirates did not receive a single red card in the league this season and only two players reached the threshold of four yellow cards for a suspension – Lebone Seema (6) and Masindi Nemtajela (4).
3 – Pirates equalled their club record for the fewest defeats in a league season with only three losses. They last lost just three times in 1994. The defeats came against Sekhukhune United (0-1) and Marumo Gallants (1-2) in their first two games of the campaign, and then Sundowns (1-2) in February.
4 – Pirates struggled when they fell behind this season, which happened in seven of their 30 league games. They did not win a single one of those, recording four draws and three defeats.
12 – Pirates only conceded 12 goals in their 30 league games, one more than the PSL record of 11 held by the Kaizer Chiefs team of 2003/04. The next-best defence in the league this season was Chiefs with 19 goals conceded.
13 – Evidence Makgopa was the most-used substitute in the league this season with 13 appearances off the bench. Patrick Maswanganyi (12) was next highest. The most substituted player was Oswin Appollis, who went off in 18 of their 30 league games.
18 – Relebohile Mofokeng had the most goal contributions in the league this season with 18. He scored 10 goals and provided eight assists. Oswin Appollis was next highest with 15 (nine goals, six assists).
21 – When Pirates got ahead, they were virtually unstoppable. They took the lead in 22 league games this season and won 21 of those. Their only blemish was a 2-1 loss to Marumo Gallants in their second game of the season. Otherwise, they always finished the job.
21 – Pirates kept a joint league record of 21 clean sheets after their 2-0 win over Orbit College on Saturday. That is a record they now share with the Chiefs side of 2003/04. Goalkeeper Sipho Chaine has set a new record for a goalkeeper in a single campaign, having been in goal for all 21 clean sheets. The previous record-holder was Ronwen Williams with 18.
21 – Pirates managed to win 21 of their 30 league games this season, one more than Sundowns (20), who were next best. The next-highest total after the top two was Chiefs with 15 wins. The record in a Premiership season is 24 by Sundowns in 2024/25, despite there being only 28 games in that campaign.
30 – Pirates scored 30 of their 58 league goals in the first half of matches this season, an almost even split. They also scored six goals after the 90-minute mark, showing they could conjure goals in added time.
33 – Pirates managed 33 points at home, the second-best tally in the league after Sundowns (39). They recorded 10 wins, three draws and two defeats, scoring 25 goals and conceding five.
33 – Pirates used 33 players during the league campaign this season. Only four teams used fewer – Durban City (28), Polokwane City (30), AmaZulu (31) and Richards Bay (32).
36 – Pirates collected 36 points on the road from their 15 matches, the best away record in the league. Chiefs and Sundowns were next highest with 29. They recorded 11 wins, three draws and one defeat, scoring 33 goals and conceding seven.
43 – Oswin Appollis made the most appearances in all competitions, featuring in 43 of Pirates’ 44 games this season. The only match he missed was the 3-0 away loss to St Eloi Lupopo in the CAF Champions League. Maybe if he had played that game, things might have turned out differently. He finished with 21 goal contributions in all competitions – 12 goals and nine assists. That is one more than Relebohile Mofokeng (11 goals, nine assists).
44 – Pirates played 44 games in all competitions this season, winning 31, drawing nine and losing four.
58 – Pirates scored 58 league goals, their most in a 30-game PSL season. That is six more than they managed in the 2004/05 campaign.
69 – Pirates finished on a club-record 69 points. That surpasses their previous best total of 61 from the 2002/03 campaign, when they were league champions, and last season, when they finished second behind Sundowns. In the latter campaign, there were only 28 games due to Royal AM’s mid-season demise.
2700 – Goalkeeper Sipho Chaine was the only player to feature in every minute of the campaign for Pirates. The outfield player with the most minutes was defender Lebone Seema (2,520), who arrived this season from TS Galaxy. Seema also picked up the most yellow cards with six.