Melbourne City stormed into the top six with a comfortable 5-1 thrashing of Perth Glory at AAMI Park.
The hosts sprinted out of the blocks and took the lead after just six minutes when Aaron Mooy whipped in a free-kick to the back post and Eric Paartalu out-jumped Richard Garcia to head home. City kept pressing and were rewarded when some brilliant work by Mooy ended in Connor Chapman doubling their advantage.
It was three before half-time, when Bruno Fornaroli steadied himself in the area and calmly slotted home to finish off a nice team move. City were in complete control, with Mooy and Paartalu dominating in the middle of the park.
Despite their dominance, Melbourne still looked suspect at the back. After being let off when Sidnei’s header was ruled out due to an obstruction in the build-up, the Brazillian forward pulled a goal back a minute before halftime with another header.
If Perth were hoping to force their way back in the second=half, they were dealt a crushing blow early after the restart. The defence failed to properly clear a corner and it fell to Harry Novillo, who lashed a powerful volley beyond the reach of Ante Covic.
Melbourne were in cruise control and took over the game. Just when Perth fans thought it could not get worse, Aryn Williams pulled down David Williams in the box late and received a second yellow card. Mooy stepped up and emphatically fired home the resulting penalty, to put the icing on the cake for City.
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