City dominated the first half with their unusual formation. Teams always have a bit of trouble when they come up against two false nines without any time to prepare for it. With the midfield overloaded Adelaide couldn’t find Isias enough and their normal game plan went out the window.

Marco Kurz made a couple of tweaks at half time and Adelaide were a much better side in the second half. Atkinson’s injury put a cloud over the rest of the game. Adelaide pushed hard for a goal beforel suddenly collapsing. 

Melbourne City

Dean Bouzanis 8 – He performed a great save against Daniel Adlung and also snuffed out two one on ones. Without him the result could have been different.

Nathaniel Atkinson 8 – He’s been one of City’s shining lights this season and it was a devastating way for him to leave the pitch tonight. Before then he had been his usual composed and consistent self.

Bart Schenkeveld 6.5 – Got himself a silly yellow card but otherwise defended pretty well. Caught square twice.

Michael Jakobsen 6.5 – Get’s a clean sheet as a central defender but his defence was pierced twice and Adelaide should have done better.

Scott Jamieson 7 – Defended really well and put on some really nice balls.

Osama Malik 7.5 – Kept his position well and won a lot of personal battles. His ability to win header after header helped immensely tonight.

Luke Brattan 6.5 – With more bodies in the City midfield he got pushed wider than he normally would be and he didn’t get as much of the ball. His passing was still wonderful.

Nick Fitzgerald 7.5 – He was one of City’s most dangerous player in the first half. But for all his danger he can’t seem to fashion a decent chance for himself.

Daniel Arzani 7.5 – Looks to beat his man nearly every time he gets the ball and succeeds more often than not. He gets an assist tonight, the future is bright for this young lad.

Marcin Budzinski 7.5 – Rare start for the Polish marquee, he made his many absences all the more mysterious by scoring twice in the first half.

Dario Vidosic 8.5 – Wasn’t sure of his positioning early on, which isn’t surprising given he was played out of position as one of the false nines. As the game wore on he managed to adjust and make a big impact on the game. He got two assists, two goals and his first goal will be one of the goals of the season.

Subs

Ross McCormick 6.5 – Scored an absolute cracker which boosts his rating but because Adelaide had the bulk of the play in the second half he didn’t get much of the ball.

Manny Muscat 6 – Did his job against a determined Adelaide but struggled to deal with Garuccio.

Stefan Mauk 5 – Didn’t get many touches but he was on the pitch during the Adelaide collapse.

Adelaide United

Daniel Margush 5.5 – He had good stats before coming into this game and got the nod ahead of Izzo. Now… not so good. Shipping five wasn’t all his fault but he was guilty of a couple of mistakes and could have done better to control Budzinski’s second.

Michael Marrone 5 – Made a couple of mistakes he shouldn’t have and it hurt his team tonight. Couldn’t handle Arzani.

Ryan Strain 6.5 – He was much more effective when he was moved into the midfield. He was Adelaide’s best player in the second half. He struggled in the first half though.

Ersan Golum 5.5 – His best moment was when he made a great recovery from an embarrassing slip that nearly let City in for a chance. He changed his game at halftime and drove forward into the midfield a lot in the second half. This was great but it shouldn’t have taken him until halftime to realise this was what his team needed.

Jordan Elsey 5 – Performed a goal saving tackle on Fitzgerald in the game’s early stages but his team shipped five goals and he didn’t find enough good balls into his midfielders or forwards.

Isaias 4 – He couldn’t find any space in the first half because of City’s formation and his team suffered for it. Came into the game later but it was too little too late.

Daniel Adlung 4 – Same sort of game as Isaias, frustrated by a lack of space. He didn’t deal with the City movement.

Jordan O’Doherty 3 – He was taken off at halftime and he was completely ineffective before then, he was chasing shadows.

Nikola Mileusnic 4 – Needs to attack the space more when he dribbles. Got too close to the City defenders when he had open space to exploit.

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos 5 – Missed a one on one in the 15th minute. Otherwise, he had a few good moments but he needed more of the ball.

Mark Ochieng 4.5 – Worked hard for no reward and often worked hard pointlessly. He would beat his man, hold up the play then miss his pass or pass it backwards or run into another defender. 

Subs

Ben Garuccio 7 – He was very impressive when he came on. He attacked really well down the left and he was able to put a dampener on the dangerous Fitzgerald.

George Blackwood 4 – Should have scored soon after he came on. Played out of position on the left.

Taylor Regan 3 – He was in defence during his team’s collapse. Not a good look.