Melbourne City Confirmed Champions In Derby Delight

Written by Lachlan Sherriff

Grand Finals don't come around very often. Grand Finals between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory come around even less.

But alas, the stars aligned, as in the A-League Men's, a sold out AAMI Park was treated to a Grand Final between the two old foes, following Victory's narrow win against Auckland and City's demoliting of Western United.

The pre match theatrics were top-notch, with crowd marches, light shows, and vibrant active bays. But really, all anyone cared about was the game.

Victory started the game hot, with Daniel Arzani controlling the tempo in the final third. But City stood strong, and prevented Victory from finding the net.

Melbourne City would have their first chance ten minutes into the game, and they made it count. A lovely piece of footwork from Aziz Behich resulted in Max Caputo firing at goal. He hit the bar, but Yonatan Cohen tapped it home, sending the City fans into jubilation.

Following City taking the lead, it would be fair to say Victory were on top. Patrick Beach was forced into making a save after a Zinedine Machach strike, while Victory appealed for, and were denied, a penalty following the ball striking Cohen's back.

Nonetheless, Victory kept firing, taking nine shots to City's three. But they couldn't hit the back of the net, and the "home" side went into the break 1-0.

Immediately into the second half, Cohen was up to his usual tricks and nearly scored a brace after cutting onto his left foot, forcing Jack Duncan to make the save.

Later on, Caputo would be gifted a chance to score after Lachlan Jackson went down with an injury. He put it wide, but the threat of City finding a second goal remained.

As the game ticked past the 80th minute, the situation became more dier for Victory. They began to attack, desperate to change the scoreline, but it wasn't to be.

And with thus, City won the 2024-25 A-League Championship. It's their second Championship, and gives the fans bragging rights over Victory in the first ever Melbourne derby Grand Final.

The game might not have been the most exciting in terms of the score, but it was nonetheless a spectacle to admire, and one of the best nights the A-League's twenty year history.

The tension was high, the fans were elite, and the night in general was one that will forever go down in A-League history.

It's been a rough five years for the A-League, with plenty of turmoil. But when the opportunity to present Australia with a Melbourne derby Grand Final showed up, they had to deliver.

And they did.