Just what did we learn from round one of the A-League season?
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MELBOURNE VICTORY LOOKING OMINOUS
The tenth season the A-League got underway on Friday night, and it certainly didn’t disappoint – especially if you’re a Victory fan.
It was supposed to be a tight contest, but Kevin Muscat’s side played the Wanderers off the park and came out with a comfortable 4-1 win.
Admittedly Tony Popovic’s side were understrength, however the Victory were missing its influential captain in Mark Milligan – but it mattered little.
The combination play of Archie Thompson, Besart Berisha, Kosta Barabarouses and Gui Finkler was excellent. The scary thing for their A-League rivals is that they’ll only get better.
Leigh Broxham and Carl Valeri were solid in the middle of the park, while defenders Matthieu Delpierre and Daniel Georgievski were superb, with the former popping up with goal.
DAVID VILLA ISN’T IN AUSTRALIA FOR A HOLIDAY
The Spanish World Cup-winner arrived in Australia just days out from the opener against Sydney FC and took his spot on the bench.
City dominated the opening half, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Sydney FC then scored a goal against the run of play through Corey Gameiro only for Villa to pop up with a well-taken equaliser just minutes after coming on.
Villa has shown an excellent attitude since his arrival and looks likely to start for City’s clash with Newcastle next Sunday.
SAME OLD, SAME OLD FOR WELLINGTON PHOENIX
Wellington have arguably assembled its best squad in its A-League history, but the Phoenix’s loss to Perth on Sunday showed little had changed.
A pre-season win over English Premier League side West Ham United gave fans hope of finals berth in 2014-15, but it was the performance rather than the result that would have disappointed most Phoenix fans.
Wellington couldn’t capitalise on its opportunities and were punished late on in the match through a Jamie Maclaren strike.
BRISBANE ROAR WON’T HAVE IT THEIR OWN WAY
After dominating three of the last four seasons, the Roar were expected to beat Adelaide United at home on Sunday.
However, a well-organised Reds outfit were able to produce a 2-1 win.
Yes, it’s only round one, and Matt McKay’s red card didn’t help the Roar’s cause, but there were signs that showed the loss of Besart Berisha could be bigger than expected.
There’s no doubt Mike Mulvey’s side will be challenging for the title, but they’ll face much greater competition.
LONG SEASON AHEAD FOR THE NEWCASTLE JETS
If the F3 Derby was anything to go by, it’s going to be a long season for the Jets.
Phil Stubbins’ side are many people’s favourites to win the wooden spoon this season, and they looked fairly poor in their 1-0 loss to Central Coast on Saturday.
It only gets tougher for them, as they also play their three next games on the road away to Melbourne City, Wellington and Perth as Hunter Stadium undergoes repair work before the Asian Cup.