They did not have it all their own way and rode their luck at times, but did enough to open up a five-point lead at the top of the table.
Here are the talking points from the game.
Rayners scores
It took Sundowns until the 33rd minute to find the back of the net, and it was simple in its creation.
Teboho Mokoena floated in a cross and Rayners got between two defenders to steer a header into the corner of the net.
City will be upset at how easily the chance came after they had been resolute to that point and limited the chances for the home side.
It was a first goal in five games for the Bafana Bafana hopeful and a 16th goal of the campaign in all competitions. That includes 12 in the Betway Premiership, taking him one behind Lamontville Golden Arrows’ Sede Dion in the Golden Boot race.
Matthews doubles the lead
Sundowns doubled their advantage on 56 minutes and it was Tashreeq Matthews with a fine strike.
He picked up the ball on the left-hand side of the box and cut back inside before curling a shot into the far corner.
It was a deserved second for the home side, who had continued to apply the pressure in the second half without knocking the door down.
But Matthews scored his sixth goal of the league campaign, having featured in every match of the campaign so far for The Brazilians. Add to that four assists and he is into double figures for goal contributions. In all competitions, he has seven goals and five assists.
Penalty to Polokwane
Sundowns went to sleep a bit at the back, allowing Bonginkosi Dlamini to feed Raymond Daniels for a shot, and Aubrey Modiba stuck out a hand to stop the effort. That meant a penalty to the visitors.
But as Polokwane captain Puleng Marema stepped up to take the spot-kick, the veteran slipped in the motion of shooting and the ball sailed harmlessly over the bar.
It was the second penalty miss in as many matches between these two. On Wednesday, Lebo Mothiba tried a Panenka for Sundowns and got it all wrong.
A huge chance for Polokwane to get back into the game was gone.
Third’s a charm
The home side scored a third as two substitutes combined. Nuno Santos found Brayan Leon out wide and the two played a one-two before Santos scored low into the back of the net.
Santos has only just returned from injury and showed his pure class again, how important he will be in the CAF Champions League final.
It is a second league goal of the campaign to go with three assists, but overall he has 14 goal contributions (five goals, nine assists) in 31 appearances in all competitions, almost one every other game.
Unbeaten run
Sundowns have now gone 18 games unbeaten in the league since a 1-0 away loss to Lamontville Golden Arrows in September.
That is impressive and the reason why they are now ahead in the title race, but they have some way to go before they reach the league record, which was set by themselves.
Sundowns went 52 games unbeaten between September 2022 and May 2024, before losing 1-0 to Cape Town City on the final day of the campaign to deny them an ‘Invincibles’ season.
Where does this leave us?
Sundowns now have a five-point lead at the top of the Betway Premiership table, albeit having now played a game more than second-placed Orlando Pirates.
The Buccaneers are in action on Tuesday with a difficult away game at Stellenbosch FC, while Sundowns have yet another league fixture when they host Kaizer Chiefs on Wednesday.
It seems likely that Sundowns will have their final league game against TS Galaxy moved to May 12, which means they will have completed their campaign. That is in order to accommodate the CAF Champions League final.
If that happens, Orlando Pirates will still have two games to play, but could be out of the running. If Sundowns win their final three fixtures, they will be champions.