2018–19 Melbourne City FC season explained

The 2018–19 season was the ninth in the history of Melbourne City Football Club. In addition to the domestic league, Melbourne City competed in the FFA Cup for the fifth time.

Players

Squad information

Review

Pre-season

Melbourne City began their pre-season by playing two games in Kochi, India beating Indian club Kerala Blasters 6–0^[1] and losing to Spanish club Girona FC 6–0.^[2] During August-October, the club played a training match each month, drawing with Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium^[3] and beating Adelaide United and Perth Glory at City Football Academy.^{[4] [5]} On 12 October, Melbourne City played Western Sydney Wanderers in a friendly for the second season in a row at McEwen Reserve which ended in a 4–1 victory.^[6]

May

The club released five players on 3 May. Nick Fitzgerald, Bruce Kamau, and Ruon Tongyik were released to the Western Sydney Wanderers, while Christian Cavallo and Manny Muscat later joined Green Gully.^{[7] [8]} Later in the month, Danish midfielder Michael Jakobsen left to join Adelaide United and Australian midfielder Stefan Mauk joined Brisbane Roar via return to his parent club N.E.C. in the Netherlands.

June

City signed four players in nine days with Anthony Cáceres signing a one-year loan from Manchester City once more. Scottish player Michael O'Halloran joined City on a two-year contract from Rangers. Riley McGree signed a one-year deal from Belgian club, Club Brugge. Lastly, former Central Coast Mariners man, Lachlan Wales also signed a one-year deal.

Melbourne City's marquee man, Marcin Budziński mutual terminated his contract, while Oliver Bozanic joined Scottish club Heart of Midlothian at the conclusion of his Melbourne City contract. Finally, City teenager, Denis Genreau was loaned to PEC Zwolle for a season.

July

For the second season in a row, Luke Brattan's loan was extended by another additional year on 5 July. On 19 July, Melbourne City signed Australian midfielder Rostyn Griffiths, following his time at Uzbek club Pakhtakor Tashkent.

August

On 7 August, Melbourne City played their first FFA Cup game against Brisbane Roar with Luke Brattan suffering a big injury blow.^[9] His injury was on for a long time from the 36th minute. It was already past half-time, but referee kept the time of the game go on. When the full 90 minutes were up, the second half was restarted with the game almost being the longest FFA Cup match. It was still goalless then, so extra time came. In the 120th minute, Bruno Fornaroli's big strike in the top-left corner sent Melbourne City 1–0 clear to move to the Round of 16.^[10]

On 29 August, Bruno Fornaroli was again the hero for Melbourne City, scoring a goal outside the box hitting the top-right hand side of the net, giving Melbourne City a 1–0 win against Newcastle Jets sending them to the quarter-finals.^[11]

On 9 August, City's promising young talent, Daniel Arzani joined Manchester City, with the expectation to be immediately loaned out to Celtic. On 30 August, Melbourne City signed French attacking midfielder Florin Berenguer from Sochaux as a visa player. Melbourne City then made their second loan to PEC Zwolle, with goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis joining Denis Genreau on loan for the season.

September

Three new players signed for Melbourne City in mid-September. After three years in Europe, Mark Birighitti signed a three-year deal to return to the A-League and replace Bouzanis who was loaned-out, Ritchie De Laet signed on a one-year loan from Aston Villa and was designated as a marquee player, and defender Curtis Good, who played for the club in 2012, returned on a one-year deal.

On 19 September, Melbourne City played in their quarter-finals for the FFA Cup against Western Sydney Wanderers at AAMI Park. City lost 2–1 loss, with Riley McGree scoring his first goal for the club, and were knocked-out of the cup.^[12]

October

The former Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder, Kearyn Baccus signed for Melbourne City as an injury replacement for Michael O'Halloran who suffered a hamstring injury.

On 20 October, City played their first game of the season which ended in a 2–1 victory over their derby rivals, Melbourne Victory, placing them at the top of the table at the end of the round along with Wellington Phoenix. Ritchie De Laet and Riley McGree scored City's goals.^[13]

November

The month of November didn't turn out well for Melbourne City. On 2 November, City again couldn't find a victory against Sydney FC still when City's last win against Sydney FC was a 1–0 victory in the 2016 FFA Cup Final. They were redeeming themselves after a 2–0 win against Wellington Phoenix on 9 November. On 24 November, City were again struggling to try and mostly win at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane after a 2–0 defeat from Brisbane Roar.

December

Melbourne City played their first game against Newcastle Jets for the season which ended in a 3–0 win, with Riley McGree scoring with only two minutes played, along with Luke Brattan who scored a long volley from outside the box to double City's advantage in stoppage time, as then the speedster, Lachlan Wales scored his first goal for City with a long run to tap the ball home through the legs of Glen Moss.

On the 8th, City's was facing the top of the table's team, Perth Glory. It ended in a disappointing 1–0 loss with the only goal coming from Chris Ikonomidis. Curtis Good with 10 minutes to go, had also been sent off with a second yellow card.

Melbourne City redeemed themselves again with a 2–0 win over Adelaide United with Jordan Elsey scoring an own goal from a crossing ball from Ramy Najjarine. Luke Brattan finished it off with a bullet into the bottom left corner, with Paul Izzo getting a hand to the ball, but couldn't keep it out. The celebration had Brattan using the corner flag as a golf club as he looked like he was playing golf.

The final game for City in December, was the second Melbourne Derby of the season which Victory wanted to win for a seventh straight win of the season. The Swedish World Cup international striker, Ola Toivonen tapped the opening goal for Victory. City in stoppage time scored the equalizer with Dario Vidošić directing the header into back of the net. It resulted into a 1–1 draw.

January

January was a start that the Melburnians were dreaming for. Melbourne City faced the Western Sydney Wanderers on New Year's Day, with a 2–0 win over them. Two goals were in quick succession for City with Lachlan Wales and Ritchie De Laet both scoring in 3 minutes.

On the 2nd, Anthony Cáceres loan ended leaving City to Manchester City as he also signed for Sydney FC in the transfer on another one-year loan. The next day the youngster, Anthony Lesiotis was released to Melbourne Victory.

With the two Anthony's gone, City again was playing against Newcastle Jets at home result was a 2–1 win for City with Riley McGree and Luke Brattan again scoring the two first two goals when facing Newcastle.

On the 8th, Michael O'Halloran left City in a mutual-contract termination leaving City with only two forwards in their squad, being left with Bruno Fornaroli and Gianluca Iannucci.

Three days later, Melbourne City then faced Brisbane Roar at AAMI Park which ended in a 1–0 win with Ritchie De Laet scoring his fifth goal of the season.

On a Wednesday night in Gosford, Central Coast Mariners was hosting City for the second and last time for the season. The result was a heartbreaking 2–1 loss for City over bottom-of-the-table Mariners. The second goal for the Mariners, was from Matt Simon as Galekovic saved a penalty from Simon with the ball rebounding back to him and scoring on the other side of the net in the 89th minute which handed the Mariners their first win of the season.

On the 19th, City was facing the top-of-the table side, Perth Glory at home. Many chances came on for both teams, and eventually ended in a goalless game (0–0).

On the 22nd, City played the Western Sydney Wanderers and had one of AAMI Park's highest-scoring games with the game ending in a 4–3 win for Melbourne City. Bart Schenkeveld was the hero and won the game for City in stoppage time.

February

With no star-man, up front including the marquee man Bruno Fornaroli; Jamie Maclaren and Shayon Harrison had signed for City in the opening two days of February. Maclaren was a signing for four years, which is almost the exact same time, Bruno Fornaroli had been into the club. Shayon Harrison (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) signed on a one-year loan.

On 3 March, Melbourne City travelled to Jubilee Oval to face Sydney FC with no Maclaren or Harrison within their starting lineup. The game then resulted into a 2–0 loss.

Jamie Maclaren and Shayon Harrison had returned to their match-day squad for a home clash against Adelaide United (9 February) with both of them in the Starting XI up front. Maclaren had opened his account with his first goal for Melbourne City and then ended in a 1–1 draw.

On the 15th, played for the third and final time against Newcastle Jets which this time ended in a 3–1 loss with again Jamie Maclaren scoring the goal for City which was now two-in-two, for the Melbourne number 29.^[14]

Bruno Fornaroli had finally called his time to depart Melbourne City on the 26th.

Transfers

Transfers in

No.	Position	Player	Transferred from	Type/fee	Contract length	Date	Ref
11				Free transfer	2 years	17 June 2018	[15]
8				Loan	1 year	20 June 2018	[16]
17				Loan	1 year	25 June 2018	[17]
19			Central Coast Mariners	Free transfer	1 year	25 June 2018
7				Free transfer	2 years	19 July 2018	[18]
27				Free transfer	1 year	30 August 2018	[19]
1				Free transfer	3 years	11 September 2018	[20]
2				Loan	1 year	14 September 2018	[21]
22				Undisclosed Fee	1 year	18 September 2018	[22]
15			Western Sydney Wanderers	Injury replacement		12 October 2018	[23]
29				$171,000	4 years	1 February 2019	[24]
9				Loan	1 year	2 February 2019	[25]

Transfers out

No.	Position	Player	Transferred to	Type/fee	Date	Ref
2				Released	3 May 2018	[26]
7			Western Sydney Wanderers	Released	3 May 2018
11			Western Sydney Wanderers	Released	3 May 2018
19				Released	3 May 2018
21			Western Sydney Wanderers	Released	3 May 2018
22			Adelaide United	Free transfer	14 May 2018	[27]
13				Loan return	28 May 2018	[28]
27				Mutual contract termination	19 June 2018	[29]
8				End of contract	20 June 2018	[30]
15				Loan	26 June 2018	[31]
14				$1,000,000	9 August 2018	[32]
1				Loan	31 August 2018	[33]
17				Loan return	2 January 2019	[34]
39				Released	3 January 2019	[35]
11				Mutual contract termination	8 January 2019	[36]
6				Free transfer	24 January 2019	[37]
23				Mutual contract termination	26 February 2019	[38]

Contract extensions

No.	Name	Position	Duration	Date	Notes
6		Centre-back	1 year	25 June 2018
26		Central midfielder	1 year	5 July 2018	[39]
15		Central midfielder	3 years	8 January 2019

Technical staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Warren Joyce
Assistant coach	Tony Vidmar
Goalkeeping coach	Zeljko Kalac
Head of Sport Science	Edward Leng
Club physio	Belinda Pacella
Youth team manager	Joe Palatsides
Youth Team Assistant	Patrick Kisnorbo

Pre-season and friendlies

Toyota Yaris LaLiga World

Competitions

A-League

See main article: 2018–19 A-League.

Finals series

FFA Cup

See main article: 2018 FFA Cup.

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Includes all competitions. Players with no appearances not included in the list.^[40]

			Name	A-League		FFA Cup		Total
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2	DF			25	7	0(1)	0	26	7
3	DF			21(2)	0	2(1)	0	26	0
4	DF			24	0	3	0	27	0
5	DF			25	1	3	0	28	1
7	MF			15(8)	1	3	0	26	1
8	MF			18(9)	7	3	1	30	8
9	FW			11	4	0	0	11	4
10	MF			7(8)	3	3	0	18	3
13	DF			12(5)	0	2(1)	0	20	0
15	MF			26(1)	0	0	0	27	0
18	GK			27	0	3	0	30	0
19	FW			16(10)	3	3	0	29	3
21	FW			0(13)	1	0	0	13	1
22	DF			14(3)	0	0	0	17	0
25	DF			6(2)	0	0	0	8	0
26	MF			25(1)	4	3	0	29	4
27	MF			19(1)	0	0	0	20	0
29	FW			9	5	0	0	9	5
30	MF			0(2)	0	0	0	2	0
34	MF			0(5)	0	0	0	5	0
36	DF			0(2)	0	0	0	2	0
42	GK			1	0	0	0	1	0
51	MF			0(1)	0	0	0	1	0
Player(s) transferred out but featured this season
6	MF			2(3)	0	2	0	7	0
11	FW			0(1)	0	0	0	1	0
17	MF			1(4)	0	0(2)	0	7	0
23	FW			4	1	3	2	7	3
39	MF			0(1)	0	0(1)	0	2	0

Disciplinary record

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total cards are equal. Players with no cards not included in the list.^[40]

Rank				Name	A-League			FFA Cup			Total
1	7	MF		<	--A-League-->	7	1	0	1	0	0	8	1	0
2	22	DF		<	--A-League-->	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	1	0
3	2	DF		<	--A-League-->	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
	4	DF		<	--A-League-->	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
	15	MF		<	--A-League-->	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
6	5	DF		<	--A-League-->	5	0	0	1	0	0	6	0	0
	26	MF		<	--A-League-->	5	0	0	1	0	0	6	0	0
8	3	DF		<	--A-League-->	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
9	8	MF		<	--A-League-->	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
	13	DF		<	--A-League-->	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
11	19	FW		<	--A-League-->	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
12	9	FW		<	--A-League-->	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	21	FW		<	--A-League-->	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	25	DF		<	--A-League-->	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	27	MF		<	--A-League-->	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
16	1	GK		<	--A-League-->	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	10	MF		<	--A-League-->	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0
	17	MF		<	--A-League-->	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0
	39	MF		<	--A-League-->	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0

Clean sheets

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal. Players with no clean sheets not included in the list.

Rank			Name	A-League	FFA Cup	Total
1	1			8	2	10
2	42			1	0	1
Total				9	2	11

External links

• Official Website

Notes and References

1. Web site: La Liga World Tournament: Kerala Blasters dealt with Melbourne masterclass. Nisanth. Easwar. Goal. 24 July 2018.
2. Web site: Pre-season Report: Girona 6-0 City. Football Federation Australia. Melbourne City. 27 July 2018.
3. Web site: A-League Pre-season Report: Adelaide 0-0 City. Football Federation Australia. Melbourne City. 21 August 2018.
4. Web site: Pre-season Report: City 2-0 Adelaide. Football Federation Australia. Melbourne City. 12 September 2018.
5. Web site: Glory edged out in final friendly. Gareth. Morgan. Football Federation Australia. Perth Glory. 7 October 2018.
6. Web site: Pre-season Report: City 4 - 1 Western Sydney. Football Federation Australia. Melbourne City. 12 October 2018.
7. Web site: GULLY SIGNS CHRISTIAN CAVALLO. Green Gully. 26 May 2018.
8. Web site: Signing news: Muscat confirms next move after City exit. Football Federation Australia. A-League. 28 May 2018.
9. News: Melbourne City’s Luke Brattan ‘all clear’ after horror FFA Cup neck injury. 8 August 2018. news.com.au.
10. Web site: FFA Cup Report: Brisbane 0-1 City. Football Federation Australia. Melbourne City. 7 August 2018.
11. Web site: FFA Cup Report: City 1-0 Newcastle. Football Federation Australia. Melbourne City. 29 August 2018.
12. Web site: FFA Cup Report: City 1-2 Western Sydney. Kyparisis. Yana. 19 September 2018. Football Federation Australia. Melbourne City.
13. Web site: A-League Report: City 2 Victory 1. Football Federation Australia. Melbourne City. 20 October 2018.
14. Web site: The Newcastle Jets beat Melbourne City 3-1. 15 February 2019. Fox Sports (Australia).
15. News: Melbourne City sign Glasgow Rangers winger. Michael. Lynch. The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 June 2018.
16. News: Scorpion king Riley McGree swaps Newcastle Jets for Melbourne City. James. Gardiner. The Newcastle Herald. 20 June 2018.
17. News: City sign Wales, re-sign Malik and bring back on loan Caceres. Michael. Lynch. The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 June 2018.
18. News: Rostyn Griffiths signs with Melbourne City. 19 July 2018. FTBL.
19. News: City go French for goal-scoring boost as reports link Victory to Swede. 30 August 2018. Brisbane Times.
20. News: Birighitti answers City goalkeeper call and returns to A-League. Michael. Lynch. 11 September 2018. The Sydney Morning Herald.
21. News: Melbourne City sign EPL winner Ritchie De Laet. Michael. Lynch. The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 September 2018.
22. News: Melbourne City hail ‘quality’ signing as former Socceroos defender Curtis Good returns home. Gilbert. Gardiner. Herald Sun. 18 September 2018.
23. News: Melbourne City signs Kearyn Baccus. FTBL. 12 October 2018.
24. Web site: Melbourne City FC Signs Jamie Maclaren. 1 February 2019. Melbourne City.
25. Web site: Melbourne City FC Signs Shayon Harrison. 2 February 2019. Melbourne City.
26. News: City release five as rebuild for next season begins. Michael. Lynch. The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 May 2018.
27. News: City lose Jakobsen to Adelaide. Ben. McKay. The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 May 2018.
28. News: A-League: Stefan Mauk signing bolsters Brisbane Roar midfield. Marco. Monteverde. The Courier-Mail. 28 May 2018.
29. Web site: Melbourne City FC Player Update. Melbourne City. 19 June 2018.
30. News: Australian international midfielder Oliver Bozanic joins Hearts. Anderson. Barry. 20 June 2018. The Scotsman.
31. Web site: City teenager joins Eredivisie club on loan. Football Federation Australia. 26 June 2018.
32. News: Daniel Arzani completes move from Melbourne to Manchester City. The Guardian. 9 August 2018.
33. News: Victory clinches deal for Toivonen as Bouzanis departs City. Michael. Lynch. The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 August 2018.
34. Web site: Anthony Caceres Loan Ends. 2 January 2019. Melbourne City.
35. Web site: Victory sign promising young duo. 3 January 2019. Goal.com.
36. Web site: Melbourne City release O'Halloran as Baccus locked down. Goal.com. 8 January 2019.
37. Web site: Osama Malik departs Melbourne City FC. 24 January 2019. Melbourne City.
38. News: Fornaroli and City finally call it quits, marquee man free to go. Michael. Lynch. The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 February 2019.
39. Web site: Luke Brattan signs one-year contract extension. Melbourne City. 5 July 2018.
40. Web site: Squad. Soccerway.