Sydney FC devastated Warren Joyce's men 4-0, with a no holds barred performance where all 11 men on the pitch played at their exceptional best.

A frantic opening half allowed for both teams to create an even amount of opportunities, with Daniel Arzani again the bright spark for City going forward. The significant turning point of the game occurred when Dean Bouzanis brought down Sydney captain Alex Brosque, who drew the foul intelligently by nudging the ball past Bouzanis to force the penalty. From then on, Sydney controlled the game.

City faced difficulty in playing their passing centred game against a Sydney midfield dominated by Josh Brilliante and Brandon O’Neill, as well as finding attacking opportunities limited by the diligent defensive effort of Sydney’s back four. There was no happy return for Bruno Fornaroli facing up against a rampant Sydney; but he will definitely need to be firing in City’s lead up to the finals.

Melbourne City

Dean Bouzanis — 4

Poorly brought down Brosque but nearly made up for it as he read the path of Bobo’s penalty. Beyond a near save Bouzanis was luckless throughout."

Manny Muscat — 5

Was unable to handle the pace and trickery of Ninkovic and co. Lacked the capacity to be an effective outlet on the right. Substituted for the returning Fornaroli.

Harrison Delbridge — 4

Did little to prevent Sydney FC’s ruthlessness.

Bart Schenkeveld — 6

The Dutchman’s quality was shown through the preventative measures he utilised throughout, reading Sydney’s through balls intelligently many times and clearing off the line when the game could have been four nil.

Scott Jamieson — 5

Constantly marauding and seeking to create opportunities for his teammates, but his crossing let him down at times.

Michael Jakobsen — 4

The late shuffle clearly had an effect on the captain as he lacked the diligence and poise that typifies his game.

Luke Brattan — 5

Unusually lacked composure in his play as he was forced in to errors by the intensity of the Sydney midfield. Despite this, he was always opting to push forward ambitiously with his passing

Stefan Mauk — 5

Rarely given an opportunity on the ball and therefore hardly shaped the match.

Marcin Budzinksi — 5.5

At times appeared to influence the match positively, fashioning out rare opportunities for Sydney

Dario Vidosic — 5 

Improvised well on occasion but was kept quiet by the boisterous Sydney defence.

Daniel Arzani — 7 

Oozes confidence and was City’s danger man from the offset. Left understandably frustrated consistently by the lack of service from his teammates.

SUBS

Bruno Fornaroli — 6 

Five months out, Fornaroli nearly had a goal on return, but was caught out for a foul on Bujis. Had a few opportunities after his ruled out goal, but clearly lacks game time.

Denis Genreau — N/A 

Lacked time to make an impact.

Bruce Kamau — N/A

City needed his pace and driving runs earlier, he barely had time to make an impact.

 

Sydney FC

Andrew Redmayne — 8.5 

Impressively continued to prevent conceding from open play in nine hours. His tenth clean sheet of the season was aided by the defence in front of him and his own determination in the game’s final minutes.

Luke Wilkshire — 7.5

Warranted his early yellow, but was resolute in the defensive half.

Jordy Bujis — 7

Moved the ball elegantly and maintained a solid partnership with Wilkinson throughout.

Alex Wilkinson — 8

Composure and experience was in abundance in Wilkinson’s defensive play, demonstrated no better than when one on one with Arzani he did everything to force the City prospect not to shoot.

Michael Zullo — 9

His first assist (of three) came from tireless work in the build up to Ninkovic’s goal, intercepting a pass meant for Arzani and pushing forward to assist the Serbian maestro. Truly staking a claim for a left back spot in the Socceroos squad.

Joshua Brilliante — 7.5

Was determined with his interceptions and relentless in the intensity of his movement to reclaim the ball. A late yellow card lowers his score from an 8.

Brandon O’Neill — 8

Dropped back constantly to create space and provide relief for his teammates. His energy and pressure forced City to backtrack on several occasions.

Alex Brosque — 8

Smart play to win the penalty, tapping the ball slightly past Bouzanis to draw forth the challenge. Defended wholeheartedly from the front, clearly motivating those around him.

Milos Ninkovic — 8.5

Arguably the most entertaining player to watch in the A-League; a classy, well-taken half volley compounded the hard work on City.

Adrian Mierzejewski — 8

Was penetrating in his through balls and got himself on the scoresheet deservedly.

Bobo — 8

The Brazilian became the fastest player to hit twenty goals in a season and looks certain to overtake Fornaroli’s previous goal haul. His brace was clinical, albeit he was lucky in the deflection his penalty took.

SUBS

David Carney — 6

Spread the defence well and provided further angst to City's woes.

Matt Simon — 6

Did what he does best, battling with City’s defence in the late stages of the match.

Paulo Retre — N/A

Lacked time to make an impact.