Arthur Diles glowingly reviewed a flawless performance from Melbourne Victory as they swatted aside Sydney FC in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
The Boys in Blue were richly deserving of all the points at AAMI Park, seeing three goals disallowed before they plundered four during a second half where the scoreline eventually reflected their dominance.
On Monday night, Santos’ third and fourth goals of the 2025/26 season got Victory in front, and from then on, they never looked back, with substitute Keegan Jelacic adding a third and Lachlan Jackson’s header rounding off the scoring.
Victory’s latest home win, arguably their best this campaign, lifts them up to seventh on the ladder, and featured a hat-trick of assists for Juan Mata, as he continues to star for the Club.
Speaking during his post-match press conference, Diles was quizzed on where that performance ranks among those put in during his tenure, and the Head Coach charted it at number one.
“It’s hard to remember two dominant halves like that, where you don’t fall off. Normally, you can have one outstanding half, and you fall away, or you don’t start well, and then you have a great second half.
“But I think in terms of 90 minutes, that was the best one so far, for sure.”
The home support saw Victory prevail by a four-goal margin for the second time this term, and the noise cascading down from the terraces, which included former player Marco Rojas amongst the active support, was a huge factor in the Big Blue success.
With this in mind, Diles heaped praise on the fans for their sizeable contribution.
“It was a great atmosphere from both fans. Sydney came with numbers, which was great to see. But our fans today were outstanding, I thought they were amazing, and the football followed suit. So for me, it was a beautiful day – great football, great performance.
“To be clinical like we were, that’s the most pleasing part. And then add to that, you don’t lose focus and concentration, you don’t concede.”
Watch Diles’ full press conference below.
