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A week after Sydney’s A-League derby produced magic, the Melbourne equivalent went one better.
Melbourne Victory’s 5-2 belting of Melbourne City was in every way an A-League classic.
It had goals aplenty, cards and challenges, and a capacity crowd in full voice.
The sold-out signs went up at Etihad Stadium with 43,729 screaming fans providing a soundtrack to Victory’s triumph.
In AFL-mad Melbourne, there was even an Archie Thompson speccie effort in the goal square.
Not that anyone will remember that, such was the highlight reel from the first derby featuring the reborn City side.
That clip won’t feature David Villa, almost totally sidelined on the flanks of City’s forward line.
Instead, Besart Berisha and Thompson rose to the fore, sharing five of the best.
The support act came from the mesmerising Kosta Barbarouses, who is in career-best form.
The Kiwi international was a key figure in three goals, including a miraculous pass late in the second half to ice Victory’s night out.
Coach Kevin Muscat was delighted for didn’t want to pick a player for praise.
“(Barbarouses) was good, but he had a lot of brothers,” he said.
Instead, Muscat saluted the crowd in attendance – which he said was the best he’d ever
“I haven’t been at a domestic game in Australia where the support was like that,” he said.
“The game gets built up over this week and for our members to vote with their wallets and come and support us… it was outstanding and I’m just glad we could send them home happy.”
Melbourne City had their moments too, shading the first half with headed goals from Robbie Wielaert and Jason Hoffman.
While they were the beaten team, they certainly played their part in a win over their Sydney.
In this rivalry of rivalries, mark Melbourne down for an early-season victory.
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