Melbourne Victory have now knocked off the past two UEFA Champions League runners-up after backing up their Juventus triumph with a 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid in front of 16652 at Simonds Stadium, Geelong.
Despite the jubilation, there were concerns for newcomer Mitch Austin after barely a minute was played when he clashed with Emiliano Velazquez.
The winger went off momentarily and continued, however at the 24th minute couldn’t continue and was substituted for Jai Ingham.
Star striker Fernando Torres did not feature in the exhibition match, leaving fans going home disappointed.
Game over at @Simonds_Stadium. That's another big scalp for the boys in blue! #MVFC #VICATM pic.twitter.com/BVbo57QcDK
— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) July 31, 2016
Victory had the best chance of opening the scoring after 15 minutes after a quick counter attack had Fahid Ben Khalfallah teeing up Oliver Bozanic with a through ball, but the final shot went wide.
Lawrence Thomas had a fair bit of work to do after the 20 minute mark, full right-back Javier Manquillo forced a save and then minutes later Tiago’s through ball to Amath Diedhiou was too heavy and the goalkeeper was able to snuff it out.
Just under the half hour mark, Juan Moreno Fernandez’ shot looked to be a regulation save for Thomas however he elected to deliberately tip it over the crossbar.
Atletico would rue missing their chances, on the brink of half-time Ben Khalfallah’s free kick managed to find Nick Ansell whose bulleted header found its way past Jan Oblak, a collector’s item for the centre back.
Ghanaian Thomas Partey almost equalised 10 minutes into the second half, the shot was spilt by Thomas which almost fell into a goal, but he was able to get there in time.
At the 65th minute striker Rafael Santos Borre made Thomas work again, but again kept the shot out.
Despite the chances, Victory looked less rusty in the second half, 16-year-old Seb Pasquali came on and again looked very solid as he did in his debut against Juventus.
At full time in regional Victoria, it was the Victory fans jubilant and now they look forward to the FFA Cup match against Newcastle Jets in Broadmeadow on Wednesday.
The beautiful game in Geelong at @Simonds_Stadium #VICATM #ALeagueForGeelong ? pic.twitter.com/A24zIX1ZW4
— Steve Horvat (@Steve_Horvat) July 31, 2016
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