A-League Wrap: Both Sydney clubs triumph
Sydney FC ended their five-game winless run in the A-League with a 5-0 hammering of bottom club Melbourne Victory on Sunday.
Frank Farina's side had not won a league game since their 2-1 success over Melbourne Heart on December 15, but showed no sign of a lack of confidence by running out easy victors at the Etihad Stadium.
Ranko Despotovic got the rout under way in the 11th minute, before Alessandro Del Piero notched from the penalty spot nine minutes later.
Sebastian Ryall made it 3-0 shortly after, and Juventus and Italy legend Del Piero then scored his seventh A-League goal of the season nine minutes after the restart.
Midfielder Nick Carle rounded the scoring off in the 87th minute to give Sydney their biggest league win since a 7-1 demolition of Wellington Phoenix just over a year ago.
Later on Sunday, their city rivals Western Sydney Wanderers - who had lost their last two matches - closed the gap on table-toppers Brisbane Roar back to five points with a comfortable 3-1 home win over Perth Glory.
Brendon Sentalab broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark and Aaron Moody doubled the hosts' advantage shortly after.
Shane Smeltz pulled a goal back for Perth early in the second half, but Mark Bridge settled Western Sydney nerves with a penalty 19 minutes from time.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
‘Managing Leeds? It was an option that appeared, but it wasn’t the right timing. I decided it wasn’t a good idea to leave the club I was at mid-season’: Premier League boss admits to turning down opportunity to replace Jesse Marsch in 2023
‘Ruben Amorim could have waited for Real Madrid and had a better chance to be successful – to have joined Manchester United, he must be convinced in his own ability’ Former Old Trafford coach’s verdict on new boss