Melbourne City young gun Marco Tilio produced a memorable performance with a goal and an assist to help guide City to an emphatic 4-0 victory over Western United at AAMI Park.
A first half onslaught saw City quickly pile on three unanswered goals in the opening 25 minutes of the contest, with Jamie Maclaren once again finding the back of the net to extend his historic goalscoring run.
TEAM NEWS
City was unchanged once again with Head Coach Rado Vidosic sticking with the same line-up for the fourth game in a row.
Maclaren once again took the armband, while Curtis Good was named after he managed to overcome a knock suffered in the win over Wellington Phoenix.
Starting XI: 1. Tom GLOVER (GK), 25. Callum TALBOT, 6. Thomas Lam, 22. Curtis GOOD, 38. Jordan BOS, 13. Aiden O’NEILL, 8. Richard VAN DER VENNE, 14. Valon BERISHA, 23. Marco TILIO, 7. Mathew LECKIE, 9. Jamie MACLAREN (C).
Substitutes: 33. Matthew SUTTON (GK), 2. Scott GALLOWAY, 3. Scott JAMIESON, 4. Nuno REIS, 10. Florin BERENGUER, 15. Andrew NABBOUT, 16. Taras GOMULKA.
WHAT HAPPENED?
It was an energetic start from City, piling on the pressure at both ends of the pitch as it created plenty of chances in the opening exchanges.
City fans didn’t have to wait long for the first goal, with Tilio winning the ball on the halfway line before going on an inspired run all the way into the box, dancing his way through a handful of would-be defenders before sliding the ball into the bottom right corner in the 9th minute.
As City continued to press the United backline, a slip-up from Western United as it tried to play out from the back opened the door for City to take full advantage.
Mathew Leckie was quick to pounce on the loose ball in the box, driving hard towards goal before his attempted cross was bundled in for an own goal by Western defender Leo Lacroix in the 12th minute.
The onslaught didn’t stop there, with Tilio causing problems for the United defence down the right wing once again before showing great awareness to pick out an unmarked Jamie Maclaren in the box.
As he has done all season long, Maclaren was clinical with his finish, firing it into the bottom left corner to make it 3-0 in the 24th minute.
Maclaren has now extended his goalscoring run out to 10 games as he edges closer to becoming the first player to reach 100 Melbourne City goals.
After producing a dominant first half performance, City was able to manage the game in the second half, with Head Coach Rado Vidosic using all of his five allocated substitutions as the side looked to close out the game.
Last season’s Player of the Year Florin Berenguer made his first appearance in the 2022/23 season, coming on as a substitute in the 67th minute, much to the delight of the City fans.
Jordan Bos almost created some late excitement deep into the contest, driving into the box down the left-hand side before his attempt to curl it into the far corner just strayed wide in the 80th minute.
It was then Andrew Nabbout who put the icing on the cake in a dominant City performance, providing a perfectly timed run into the box, charging onto a clever pass from Richard van der Venne before showing great composure to chip the keeper to make it 4-0 in the 85th minute.
Western United continued to commit bodies forward in search of their first goal, but the City backline showed some great defensive grit, seeing out an impressive 4-0 victory.
WHATS NEXT?
Your City boys will be back in action against the 3rd placed Western Sydney Wanderers at Commbank Stadium on Sunday 15 January.
