| Melbourne Derby | |
| First Contested: | 8 October 2010 A-League |
| Total: | 45 |
| Most Wins: | Melbourne Victory (16) |
| Top Scorer: | Jamie Maclaren (10) |
| Mostrecent: | 5 May 2024 A-League Men finals Victory 1–1 City |
| Largestvictory: | City 7–0 Victory (17 April 2021) |
The Melbourne Derby is an intra-city local derby in Australia's premier association football competition, the A-League Men. It is contested between the first two Melbourne teams playing in the competition, Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory, and is the A-League Men's first intra-city derby.
With the introduction of Melbourne Heart (who would later be known as Melbourne City) to the A-League at the start of the 2010–11 season, (the Victory having joined the league at inception), the first derby was held on 8 October 2010 at AAMI Park. The match was originally scheduled for 2 October 2010. However, due to the 2010 AFL Grand Final Replay occurring on the same day, the match was postponed.[1]
Melbourne City won the inaugural derby 2–1, with goals from Alex Terra and John Aloisi. Robbie Kruse scored for Victory. Aziz Behich was sent off late in the second half, but Heart were able to hold on and secure the win. Although the game was an official sell out, only 25,897 fans turned up, well short of AAMI Park's official capacity of 30,050. The Victory hosted their first home derby on 22 January at Docklands Stadium, with the match ending in a 2–2 draw.[2] The match was marred by an unacceptable tackle by Kevin Muscat on Adrian Zahra, which earned the Victory captain his second straight red card and a subsequent eight-match ban, ending not only his season, but his A-League career.[3]
The first scoreless draw in the derby occurred in the third round of 2011–12 season, whilst a record crowd at AAMI Park was in attendance for the second derby of the season. This derby was arguably one of the best in the rivalry's brief existence, with Heart midfielder Matt Thompson scoring twice in a matter of minutes late in the first half to put Heart in the lead 2–1, before City substitute Alex Terra scored controversially after appearing to handball preceding his goal in the second half. City would win the match 3–2.[4] The intense rivalry and passion between both sets of supporters occasionally boiled over, as occurred in February 2011 when four Melbourne City supporters were charged with "conspiracy to falsely imprison a [Victory supporter] ".[5]
In the 2014–15 season, City underwent a takeover by the City Football Group. Melbourne City had their first derby win under the new management that season, winning the pre-Christmas derby 1–0 with Erik Paartalu scoring one of the latest winners in a derby.[6] Victory and City later met in the Finals Series for the first time, in front of a derby record attendance of 50,873 at Etihad Stadium. Melbourne Victory won the Semi Final convincingly with a score of 3–0, with goals from Besart Berisha, Kosta Barbarouses and Archie Thompson.[7] The third derby of the 2015–16 season was marred by a series of flares let off both outside AAMI Park before the match and inside the arena during the match by some Melbourne Victory supporters. The poor behaviour from Victory fans also extended to "an alleged assault on TV news personnel outside the stadium, throwing missiles at Melbourne City player Thomas Sørensen and a Victoria Police officer, and altercations with police after the match".[8] Football Federation Australia subsequently issued Melbourne Victory a $50,000 club fine and a suspended three competition points deduction.[8] On the field, the match was lauded as one of the most "captivating" derbies of the rivalry and featured an incredible passage of play for a goal from City striker Bruno Fornaroli.[9] In Round 2 of the 2016–17 season, City recorded just their second ever derby win at Etihad Stadium, comfortably defeating Victory 4–1. The match featured the A-League Men debut of Socceroos all-time leading goal scorer Tim Cahill for City, who scored an incredible long-range goal to open City's account.[10] The February 2017 derby was a spiteful and controversial affair. Most notably City goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis, was suspended and forced to undergo an education course after ethnically slurring Victory striker Besart Berisha during the late stages of Victory's 2–1 win.[11] Tim Cahill was also red carded before even being entering the field of play, and Victory held on to record a stunning come from behind win.[12] [13]
The two rivals have been drawn for an FFA Cup derby only once; in 2016 at the semi-final stage of the tournament. Melbourne City advanced to the Final, knocking out Victory 2–0 in what was one of the most physically confrontational clashes between the two rivals. The game was not without controversy, with Melbourne City's first goal of the match allowed to stand, despite the fact that Tim Cahill had seemingly interfered with Lawrence Thomas's line of sight whilst in an offside position.[14] [15]
In the nine matches played from the start of the 2017–18 season to the end of the 2019–20 season, the teams shared three wins, three draws and three losses respectively, indicating a period of relative evenness between the rivals. This changed in the first two derbies of the 2020–21 season, when City claimed historic record wins in the fixture's history, defeating Victory firstly by six goals to nil in March 2021 and then by seven goals to nil the following month.[16] Jamie Maclaren became the first player to score more than three goals in a derby in the latter game and the second player in league history to score five goals in a match, after Archie Thompson scored five goals in the 2007 A-League Grand Final.[17] The results, which coincided with a torrid run of form for the Victory that left them in last place on the ladder,[18] resulted in the sacking of head coach Grant Brebner on 17 April 2021.[19] On 12 December 2022, just a few days before the derby, the Australian Professional Leagues announced an agreement with Destination NSW that would see the 2023, 2024, and 2025 A-League Men Grand Finals hosted in Sydney, as opposed to the traditional format of being hosted by the finalist that finished higher during the regular season.[20] This announcement was met with widespread opposition from fans, former players and active support groups,[21] [22] with Original Style Melbourne and Melbourne City Terrace, the active supporter groups of Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City respectively, agreeing to stage a walkout in the 20th minute of the Melbourne Derby on 17 December 2022 in order to protest against the APL's decision.[23]
The match was marred with poor crowd behaviour, with multiple flares ignited and thrown onto the pitch by supporters of both teams. In the 20th minute of the match, Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover threw back a flare sent from the crowd, sparking a pitch invasion which saw both Glover and referee Alex King assaulted by pitch invaders, and causing the match to be abandoned.[24] [25] [26] In response. Football Australia sanctioned Melbourne Victory, which included a stopping of ticket sales and closure of active support for their following two matches at AAMI Park, along with bans on Victory supporters attending their following two matches outside of Melbourne.[27] Football Australia has also contemplated forcing Melbourne Victory to play the remainder of the 2022–23 season without fans.[28] On 10 January 2023, Football Australia found that Melbourne Victory, through the actions of their supporters in the abandoned Derby, had brought the game into disrepute, and handed down a number of financial and logistical sanctions:[29]
The 45th Melbourne Derby held on 5 May 2024 was the second ever Melbourne Derby finals match, the first in 9 years, as well as the first to be played at AAMI Park. Melbourne City enjoyed an early advantage in the match, taking the lead with a 29th minute header from Samuel Souprayen, as well as gaining a one-man advantage after Zinédine Machach was sent off in the 37th minute.[30] However, just minutes from full time, the Victory equalised through Nishan Velupillay in the 88th minute, sending the match into extra time. With neither team managing to score in extra time, the match proceeded to a penalty shootout for the first time in the fixture's history. After earlier saving a Tolgay Arslan penalty in the 19th minute, Paul Izzo made three saves in the penalty shootout in addition to scoring a penalty, helping the Victory to a 3-2 penalty shootout win, and ensuring that Melbourne City missed out on a place in the A-League semi-finals for the first time in 5 years.[31] [32]
| Season | Derby | Comp* | width=110 | Date ! | width=75 | Home team ! | Score | width=75 | Away team ! | Goals (home) | Goals (away) | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | 1 | RS | 8 October 2010 | Heart | 2–1 | Victory | Aloisi 10', Terra 56' | Kruse 35' | AAMI | 25,897 | |||
| 2 | RS | 11 December 2010 | Heart | 1–3 | Victory | Sibon 17' | Kruse 12', 28', Srhoj 54' (o.g.) | AAMI | 23,059 | ||||
| 3 | RS | 22 January 2011 | Victory | 2–2 | Heart | Allsopp 11', Hernández 30' | Aloisi 45+2', 51' | Etihad | 32,231 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 4 | RS | 22 October 2011 | Victory | 0–0 | Heart | – | – | Etihad | 39,309 | |||
| 5 | RS | 23 December 2011 | Heart | 3–2 | Victory | Thompson 37', 39', Terra 62' | Thompson 21', Hernández 90+2' | AAMI | 26,579 | ||||
| 6 | RS | 4 February 2012 | Heart | 0–0 | Victory | – | – | AAMI | 26,396 | ||||
| 2012–13 | 7 | RS | 5 October 2012 | Victory | 1–2 | Heart | Rojas 24' | Williams 14', Macallister 45+2' | Etihad | 42,032 | |||
| 8 | RS | 22 December 2012 | Heart | 1–2 | Victory | Fred 81' | Rojas 67', Thompson 90+2' | AAMI | 26,457 | ||||
| 9 | RS | 2 February 2013 | Victory | 2–1 | Heart | Thompson 29', Milligan 55' | Williams 72' | Etihad | 41,203 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 10 | RS | 12 October 2013 | Victory | 0–0 | Heart | – | – | Etihad | 45,202 | |||
| 11 | RS | 21 December 2013 | Heart | 1–3 | Victory | Kalmar 80' | Nichols 28', 63', Troisi 60' | AAMI | 26,491 | ||||
| 12 | RS | 1 March 2014 | Heart | 4–0 | Victory | Engelaar 8', Dugandzic 15' Williams 83' Kewell 86' | – | AAMI | 25,546 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 13 | RS | 25 October 2014 | Victory | 5–2 | City | Thompson 23', 87', Berisha 45+1', 46', 67' | Wielaert 13', Hoffman 26' | Etihad | 43,729 | |||
| 14 | RS | 20 December 2014 | City | 1–0 | Victory | Paartalu 90' | – | AAMI | 26,372 | ||||
| 15 | RS | 7 February 2015 | Victory | 3–0 | City | Berisha 10', Barbarouses 53', Ben Khalfallah 62' | – | Etihad | 40,042 | ||||
| 16 | FS | 8 May 2015 | Victory | 3–0 | City | Berisha 18', Barbarouses 30', Thompson 87' | – | Etihad | 50,873 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 17 | RS | 17 October 2015 | Victory | 3–2 | City | Ben Khalfallah 23', Barbarouses 57', Berisha 90' | Fornaroli 68', Mauk 71' | Etihad | 40,217 | |||
| 18 | RS | 19 December 2015 | City | 2–1 | Victory | Mauk 20', Retre 30' | Berisha 45' | AAMI | 23,572 | ||||
| 19 | RS | 13 February 2016 | City | 2–2 | Victory | Fornaroli 22', 31' | Ben Khalfallah 29', Finkler 47' | AAMI | 25,738 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 20 | RS | 15 October 2016 | Victory | 1–4 | City | Rojas 62' | Cahill 27', Fornaroli 31', Brattan 52', Brandán 63' | Etihad | 43,188 | |||
| 21 | CUP | 25 October 2016 | Victory | 0–2 | City | – | Brattan 9', Brandán 77' | AAMI | 15,791 | ||||
| 22 | RS | 17 December 2016 | City | 1–2 | Victory | Cahill 16' | Rojas 24' Berisha 78' | AAMI | 24,706 | ||||
| 23 | RS | 4 February 2017 | Victory | 2–1 | City | Berisha 84', Muscat 86' (o.g.) | Baró 70' (o.g.) | Etihad | 35,426 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 24 | RS | 14 October 2017 | Victory | 1–2 | City | George 55' | Budzinski 45+3', Kamau 64' | Etihad | 35,792 | |||
| 25 | RS | 23 December 2017 | City | 0–1 | Victory | – | Milligan 90+5' (pen.) | AAMI | 22,515 | ||||
| 26 | RS | 2 March 2018 | City | 1–2 | Victory | Fornaroli 54' (pen.) | Barbarouses 12', George 62' | AAMI | 20,083 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 27 | RS | 20 October 2018 | Victory | 1–2 | City | Honda 28' | De Laet 40', McGree 70' | Marvel | 40,505 | |||
| 28 | RS | 22 December 2018 | City | 1–1 | Victory | Vidošić 90+2' | Toivonen 55' | AAMI | 24,306 | ||||
| 29 | RS | 23 February 2019 | Victory | 1–1 | City | Barbarouses 50' | Maclaren 16' (pen.) | Marvel | 32,431 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 30 | RS | 12 October 2019 | Victory | 0–0 | City | – | – | Marvel | 33,523 | |||
| 31 | RS | 21 December 2019 | City | 1–2 | Victory | Delbridge 56' | Toivonen 15', 41' | AAMI | 17,083 | ||||
| 32 | RS | 7 February 2020 | City | 2–1 | Victory | Berenguer 8', Maclaren 71' | Toivonen 78' | AAMI | 16,872 | ||||
| |||||||||||||
| Season | Derby | Comp* | width=110 | Date ! | width=75 | Home team ! | Score | width=75 | Away team ! | Goals (home) | Goals (away) | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | 33 | RS | 6 March 2021 | Victory | 0–6 | City | – | Maclaren 34', Berenguer 52', Griffiths 56', Metcalfe 74', 77', Colakovski 90+3' | Marvel | 11,467 | |||
| 34 | RS | 17 April 2021 | City | 7–0 | Victory | Nabbout 11', Maclaren 34' (pen.), 64', 75' (pen.), 84', 85', Luna 87' | – | AAMI | 14,031 | ||||
| 35 | RS | 6 June 2021 | Victory | 1–1 | City | Brooks 90+5' | Ansell 54' (o.g.) | AAMI | 0 (BCD) | ||||
| 2021–22 | 36 | RS | 18 December 2021 | City | 2–2 | Victory | Maclaren 60', Nabbout 63' | Margiotta 12', D'Agostino 81' | AAMI | 19,640 | |||
| 37 | RS | 19 March 2022 | City | 1–1 | Victory | Good 45' | Rojas 19' | AAMI | 18,080 | ||||
| 38 | RS | 9 April 2022 | Victory | 3–0 | City | Brimmer 7' (pen.), Rojas 14', 27' | – | AAMI | 17,754 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 39 | RS | 22 October 2022 | Victory | 0–2 | City | – | Maclaren 17' (pen.), Cadete 19' (o.g.) | AAMI | 23,489 | |||
| 40 | 17 December 2022 (resumed on 5 April 2023) | City | 2–1 | Victory | O'Neill 11', 57' | Velupillay 89' | AAMI | 18,036 (17 Dec), 6,423 (5 Apr) | |||||
| 41 | 18 February 2023 | Victory | 3–2 | City | Da Silva 7', Fornaroli 46', Brillante 77' | Leckie 24', 80' | AAMI | 18,011 | |||||
| 2023–24 | 42 | RS | 23 December 2023 | City | 0–0 | Victory | – | – | AAMI | 25,884 | |||
| 43 | 17 February 2024 | City | 0–0 | Victory | – | – | AAMI | 20,877 | |||||
| 44 | 6 April 2024 | Victory | 2–1 | City | Fornaroli 34' (pen.), Da Silva 86' | Arslan 4' | AAMI | 20,107 | |||||
| 45 | 5 May 2024 | Victory | 1–1 | City | Velupillay 88' | Souprayen 29' | AAMI | 21,358 | |||||
| |||||||||||||
| Competition | Matches | City wins | Draws | Victory wins | City goals | Victory goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League regular season | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 66 | 58 | |
| League finals series | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Australia Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 69 | 62 |
| Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|
 Jamie Maclaren | Melbourne City | 10 |
| Besart Berisha | Melbourne Victory | 9 |
| Bruno Fornaroli | Melbourne City Melbourne Victory | 7 |
 Marco Rojas | Melbourne Victory | |
| Archie Thompson | Melbourne Victory | 6 |
| Kosta Barbarouses | Melbourne Victory | 5 |
 Ola Toivonen | Melbourne Victory | 4 |
| John Aloisi | Melbourne City | 3 |
 Fahid Ben Khalfallah | Melbourne Victory | |
| Robbie Kruse | Melbourne Victory | |
| David Williams | Melbourne City |
| Competition | Melbourne City | Melbourne Victory | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A-League Men Premiership | 3 | 3 | |
| A-League Men Championship | 1 | 4 | |
| Australia Cup | 1 | 2 | |
| Total | 5 | 9 |
| Player | Melbourne City career | Melbourne Victory career | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Span | League apps | League goals | Span | League apps | League goals | |
| Aziz Behich | 2010–2014, 2023–present | 99 | 2 | 2009–2010 | 5 | 0 |
| Oliver Bozanic | 2018 | 9 | 0 | 2015–2017 | 48 | 5 |
| Joshua Brillante | 2019–2020 | 28 | 1 | 2021–2023 | 33 | 3 |
| Mate Dugandžić | 2011–2015 | 75 | 13 | 2009–2011 | 37 | 7 |
 Fred | 2011–2013 | 38 | 3 | 2006–2007 | 20 | 4 |
| Scott Galloway | 2019–present | 92 | 4 | 2013–2016 | 54 | 1 |
 Daniel Georgievski | 2021 | 3 | 0 | 2014–2017 | 67 | 3 |
| Brendan Hamill | 2010–2012 | 35 | 1 | 2021–2022 | 17 | 2 |
| Harry Kewell | 2013–2014 | 16 | 2 | 2011–2012 | 25 | 8 |
| Anthony Lesiotis | 2018–2019, 2021–2022 | 3 | 0 | 2019–2020 | 23 | 0 |
| Andrew Nabbout | 2020–present | 83 | 11 | 2012–2015, 2019–2020 | 62 | 13 |
| Kristian Sarkies | 2010–2012 | 11 | 2 | 2005–2007 | 35 | 3 |
| Tando Velaphi | 2013–2015 | 22 | 0 | 2011–2013 | 3 | 0 |
| Bruno Fornaroli | 2015–2019 | 70 | 48 | 2022–present | 42 | 25 |
| Bruce Kamau | 2016–2018 | 42 | 4 | 2023 | 2 | 0 |
| Connor Chapman | 2014–2017 | 35 | 1 | 2023–present | 37 | 1 |
| Daniel Arzani | 2016–2018 | 24 | 2 | 2023–present | 31 | 4 |
The Victory and City women's teams also compete in the Liberty A League Women (formerly the W-League[33]) and occasionally have 'double headers' where the men's teams will play after the women's teams.
| Season | Derby | Comp* | Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Goals (home) | Goals (away) | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 1 | RS | 25 October 2015 | City | 2-1 | Victory | Tabain 48', Luik 72' (pen.) | Knight 90+2' | AAMI | 2,311 |
| 2 | RS | 6 December 2015 | Victory | 0-4 | City | – | Beattie 35', Crummer 52', 72',Little 79' | Bulleen | – | |
| 2016-17 | 3 | RS | 27 November 2016 | City | 3-0 | Victory | Fishlock 64', 77', Catley 75' | – | AAMI | 1,943 |
| 4 | RS | 15 January 2017 | Victory | 2-0 | City | Dowie 1', Nairn 31' | – | Epping | 467 | |
| 2017-18 | 5 | RS | 3 November 2017 | City | 1-0 | Victory | Stott 82' | – | AAMI | 3,510 |
| 6 | RS | 14 January 2018 | Victory | 2-1 | City | Ayres 71', Gibbons 86' | Luik 63' | Epping | 1,143 | |
| 2018-19 | 7 | RS | 16 November 2018 | City | 0-2 | Victory | – | Kellond-Knight 31' (o.g),Gielnik 65' | AAMI | 1,619 |
| 8 | RS | 5 January 2019 | Victory | 1-0 | City | Nairn 88' | – | Epping | 1,265 | |
| 2019-20 | 9 | RS | 12 December 2019 | City | 1-0 | Victory | Kinga 89' | – | ABD | 907 |
| 10 | RS | 13 February 2020 | Victory | 0-4 | City | – | van Egmond 21', Emslie 31', 50',Simon 57' | Lakeside | 1,097 |
| Season | Derby | Comp* | Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Goals (home) | Goals (away) | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 11 | RS | 10 January 2021 | City | 0-6 | Victory | – | Longo 15', Ayres 29', De Vanna 72',Jackson 80', Zimmerman 90', Cooney-Cross 90+2' | CB Smith | 729 |
| 12 | RS | 17 January 2021 | Victory | 2-3 | City | Melinda Barbieri 47', Zimmerman 51' | Chidiac 22', Bunge 25' (o.g.), Withers 86' | Epping | 1,034 | |
| 2021-22 | 13 | RS | 12 December 2021 | City | 1-2 | Victory | Jackson 49' (o.g.) | Zimmerman 65', Williams 70' | AAMI | 1,092 |
| 14 | RS | 26 December 2021 | Victory | 1-5 | City | Markovski 84' | Wilkinson 5', 13', 26', 56', 75' | AAMI | 4,682 | |
| 15 | FS | 20 March 2022 | City | 1-3 | Victory | Tumeth 80' | Ayres 30', Bunge 47', Privitelli 53' | AAMI | 1,306 | |
| 2022-23 | 16 | RS | 15 January 2023 | City | 1-1 | Victory | Wilkinson 37' | Chidiac 13' | Casey Fields | 506 |
| 17 | RS | 13 March 2023 | Victory | 2-0 | City | Ayres 16' (pen.), Zois 20' | – | AAMI | 1,655 | |
| 18 | FS | 15 April 2023 | City | 3–3 | Victory | Pollicina 40', 79', Wilkinson 90+7' | Ayres 53' (pen.), 67', 72' | Casey Fields | 742 | |
| 2023-24 | 19 | RS | 23 December 2023 | City | 1-0 | Victory | Ekic 10' | – | AAMI | 6,286 |
| 20 | RS | 17 March 2024 | Victory | 0-0 | City | – | – | Home of The Matildas | 2,012 |
| Competition | Matches | City wins | Draws | Victory wins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League regular season | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | |
| League finals series | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 20 | 9 | 3 | 8 |
| Competition | Melbourne City | Melbourne Victory | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A-League Women Premiership | 3 | 1 | |
| A-League Women Championship | 4 | 3 | |
| Total | 7 | 4 |
| Competition | Matches | City wins | Draws | Victory wins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's League regular season | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | |
| Men's League finals series | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Australia Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Men's Total | 45 | 15 | 14 | 16 | |
| Women's League regular season | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | |
| Women's League finals series | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Women's Total | 20 | 9 | 3 | 8 | |
| Total League regular season | 60 | 23 | 15 | 22 | |
| Total League finals series | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Australia Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 65 | 24 | 17 | 24 |
| Competition | Melbourne City | Melbourne Victory | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A-League Men Premiership | 3 | 3 | |
| A-League Men Championship | 1 | 4 | |
| Australia Cup | 1 | 2 | |
| Men's Total | 5 | 9 | |
| A-League Women Premiership | 3 | 1 | |
| A-League Women Championship | 4 | 3 | |
| Women's Total | 7 | 4 | |
| Total A-League Premiership | 6 | 4 | |
| Total A-League Championship | 5 | 7 | |
| Australia Cup | 1 | 2 | |
| Total | 12 | 13 |