2020–21 Melbourne City FC season

The 2020–21 season was the eleventh in the history of Melbourne City Football Club. The club competed in the A-League for the eleventh time. The club was scheduled to play in the 2021 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs in June 2021, but withdrew from the competition on 4 June 2021.[1]

Melbourne City
2020–21 season
OwnerCity Football Group
ChairmanKhaldoon Al Mubarak
ManagerPatrick Kisnorbo
StadiumAAMI Park
A-League1st
A-League FinalsWinners
FFA CupCancelled
AFC Champions LeagueWithdrew
Top goalscorerJamie Maclaren (25)
Highest home attendance14,031
vs. Melbourne Victory
(17 April 2021)
A-League
Lowest home attendance3,370
vs. Adelaide United
(13 May 2021)
A-League
Average home league attendance6,154
Biggest win7–0
vs. Melbourne Victory (H)
(17 April 2021)
A-League
Biggest defeat0–3
vs. Brisbane Roar (A)
(25 May 2021)
A-League

Review

Background

On 26 June 2019, Melbourne City appointed Frenchman Erick Mombaerts as new head coach leading the club in being runners-up in the 2019–20 A-League regular season, 2020 A-League Grand Final and 2019 FFA Cup.

Pre-season

The 2020 FFA Cup was cancelled on 3 July 2020.[2]

Nathaniel Atkinson had departed the club for Perth Glory on 1 September 2020.[3] Two days later, the club appointed former assistant coach Patrick Kisnorbo to the head manager position prior to the start of the season on 3 September, after previous coach Erick Mombaerts left the club to return to his native country France.[4] Lachlan Wales was released following the end of his contract,[5] while Aiden O'Neill joined for City's first signing of the season on 8 September.[6]

City signed three youthful players, Taras Gomulka, Marco Tilio and Matt Sutton along with the departure of Gianluca Iannucci on 21 September.[7] Nathaniel Atkinson would then only after 23 days after departing City, had returned[8] within Joshua Brillante leaving two days later.[9] The next day had Andrew Nabbout join City after his short stint with Perth Glory.[10]

Joe Gauci left the club without a single appearance for City and joined Adelaide United on 7 October.[11] The following day, Ramy Najjarine was loaned to Newcastle Jets and Moudi Najjar loaned to Macarthur FC.[12] A week later, Ben Garuccio made a return signing on 16 October.[13]

On 16 November, City played their first friendly of the season, against rivals Melbourne Victory in a game with three 45-minute halves at Marvel Stadium which resulted in a 3–3 draw with a goal by Curtis Good and two from Jamie Maclaren.[14] City returned to the City Football Academy for their second friendly of the season against Western United on 28 November, with a 2–1 win via goals by Andrew Nabbout and Jamie Maclaren.[15]

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  AUS Tom Glover
2 DF  AUS Scott Galloway
3 DF  AUS Scott Jamieson (captain)
4 DF  POR Nuno Reis
7 MF  AUS Rostyn Griffiths
8 MF  AUS Aiden O'Neill
9 FW  AUS Jamie Maclaren
10 MF  FRA Florin Berenguer
11 FW  ENG Craig Noone
13 DF  AUS Nathaniel Atkinson
14 MF  JPN Naoki Tsubaki (on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos)
15 FW  AUS Andrew Nabbout
16 MF  AUS Taras Gomulka
17 FW  AUS Stefan Colakovski
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF  AUS Connor Metcalfe
19 DF  AUS Ben Garuccio
20 MF  URU Adrián Luna
22 DF  AUS Curtis Good
23 FW  AUS Marco Tilio
33 GK  AUS Matt Sutton
35 FW  AUS Raphael Borges Rodrigues (scholarship)
36 DF  AUS Kerrin Stokes (scholarship)
38 DF  AUS Jordan Bos (scholarship)
39 MF  AUS Anthony Lesiotis (scholarship)
42 GK  AUS Ahmad Taleb (scholarship)
49 FW  AUS Max Caputo (scholarship)
MF  AUS Idrus Abdulahi (scholarship)
GK  AUS James Nieuwenhuizen (scholarship)

Transfers

Transfers in

No. Position Player Transferred from Type/fee Contract length Date Ref
8MF Aiden O'Neill Burnley Free transfer 3 years 9 September 2020 [6]
16MF Taras Gomulka Adelaide United Free transfer 3 years 21 September 2020 [7]
23FW Marco Tilio Sydney FC Free transfer 3 years 21 September 2020 [7]
33GK Matt Sutton Melbourne Victory Free transfer 2 years 21 September 2020 [7]
13DF Nathaniel Atkinson Perth Glory Free transfer 2 years 23 September 2020 [8]
15FW Andrew Nabbout Perth Glory Free transfer 1 year 24 September 2020 [10]
19DF Ben Garuccio Unattached Free transfer 2 years 16 October 2020 [13][16]
14MF Naoki Tsubaki Yokohama F. Marinos Loan 1 year 5 December 2020 [17]
4DF Nuno Reis Levski Sofia Free transfer 3 years 18 January 2021 [18]
39MF Anthony Lesiotis Unattached Scholarship 3 months 21 April 2021 [19]
5DF Daniel Georgievski Western Sydney Wanderers Injury replacement 3 months 29 April 2021 [20][21]

Transfers out

No. Position Player Transferred to Type/fee Date Ref
17MF Denis Genreau Macarthur FC Free transfer 28 July 2020 [22]
13DF Nathaniel Atkinson Perth Glory Free transfer 1 September 2020 [3]
19FW Lachlan Wales Unattached End of contract 9 September 2020 [5]
37FW Gianluca Iannucci Unattached End of contract 21 September 2020 [7]
6MF Joshua Brillante Xanthi Mutual contract termination 23 September 2020 [9][23]
46GK Joe Gauci Adelaide United End of contract 7 October 2020 [11]
21FW Ramy Najjarine Newcastle Jets Loan 8 October 2020 [12]
30FW Moudi Najjar Macarthur FC Loan 8 October 2020 [12]
38FW Yaya Dukuly Adelaide United Free transfer 27 October 2020 [24]
40DF Richard Windbichler Unattached Mutual contract termination 2 December 2020 [25]
4DF Harrison Delbridge Unattached End of contract 5 January 2021 [26]
37MF Bernardo Oliveira Adelaide United Mutual contract termination 13 April 2021 [27]
5DF Daniel Georgievski Unattached End of contract 9 June 2021 [28]

From youth squad

N
Pos.
Nat.
Name
Age
Notes
38 DF Jordan Bos18 1.5 year scholarship contract[29]
42 GK Ahmad Taleb18 2 year scholarship contract[19]
49 FW Max Caputo15 2 year scholarship contract[19]
GK James Nieuwenhuizen17 3 year scholarship contract[19]

Contract extensions

No.NamePositionDurationDateNotes
7Rostyn GriffithsDefensive midfielder2 years23 September 2020[8]
10 Florin BerenguerAttacking midfielder1 year23 September 2020[8]
1Tom GloverGoalkeeper2 years11 January 2021[29]
22Curtis GoodCentre-back3 years11 January 2021[29]
36Kerrin StokesCentre-back2 years21 April 2021[19]
15Andrew NabboutWinger3 years10 June 2021[30]

Kits

Supplier: Puma / Sponsor: Etihad Airways / Sleeve sponsor: McDonald's

Home
Away
Third
Goalkeeper1
Goalkeeper2
Goalkeeper3

Pre-season and friendlies

  Win   Draw   Loss

16 November 2020 Melbourne Victory 3–3 Melbourne City Melbourne
Report
Stadium: Marvel Stadium
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
Note: Match was played with three 45-minute halves.
28 November 2020 Melbourne City 2–1 Western United Melbourne
Report Stadium: City Football Academy
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
5 December 2020 Newcastle Jets 3–3 Melbourne City Newcastle
Report
Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
12 December 2020 Western United 2–3 Melbourne City Ballarat
15:00 AEDT Report
Stadium: Morshead Park Stadium
18 December 2020 Bentleigh Greens 0–1 Melbourne City Melbourne
20:15 AEDT Report
Stadium: Kingston Heath Soccer Complex

Competitions

Overview

Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
A-League 29 December 2020 10 June 2021 Matchday 1 Winners 26 15 4 7 57 32 +25 057.69
A-League Finals 20 June 2021 27 June 2021 Semi-finals Winners 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4 100.00
Total 28 17 4 7 62 33 +29 060.71

Source: Soccerway

A-League

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Melbourne City (C) 26 15 4 7 57 32 +25 49 Qualification for 2022 AFC Champions League group stage and finals series[lower-alpha 1]
2 Sydney FC 26 13 8 5 39 23 +16 47 Qualification for 2022 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and finals series[lower-alpha 1]
3 Central Coast Mariners 26 12 6 8 35 31 +4 42 Qualification for finals series[lower-alpha 1]
4 Brisbane Roar 26 11 7 8 36 28 +8 40
5 Adelaide United 26 11 6 9 39 41 2 39
Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Least red cards; 5) Least yellow cards; 6) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. The top two teams entered the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth entered the finals series at the elimination-finals.

Results summary

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
26 15 4 7 57 32  +25 49 10 1 2 36 15  +21 5 3 5 21 17  +4

Results by round

Round12345667891011121314151516171819192021212222232424
GroundAABABHAABHAAHHHAAAHAHAHHHHABAH
ResultWLBWBLLLBWWWWWWLWDWDWWWWDWLBDL
Position157568899975443223111111111111
Points33366666691215182124242728313235384144454848484949
Source: Ultimate A-League
A = Away; H = Home; B = Bye; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 24 November 2020.[31]

  Win   Draw   Loss

29 December 2020 1 Brisbane Roar 0–1 Melbourne City Brisbane
18:05 AEST Report Stadium: Dolphin Stadium
Attendance: 9,279
Referee: Adam Kersey
3 January 2021 2 Adelaide United 2–0 Melbourne City Adelaide
17:35 ACDT
Report Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 10,106
Referee: Alireza Faghani
16 January 2021 4 Melbourne City 2–1 Western United Melbourne
19:10 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 7,068
Referee: Shaun Evans
31 January 2021 6 Melbourne City 1–3 Perth Glory Melbourne
18:40 AEDT Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 5,685
Referee: Chris Beath
3 February 2021 6 Central Coast Mariners 3–2 Melbourne City Gosford
19:05 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
Attendance: 3,073
Referee: Stephen Lucas
7 February 2021 7 Newcastle Jets 1–0 Melbourne City Newcastle
16:05 AEDT
Report Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 4,893
Referee: Alex King
23 February 2021 9 Melbourne City 3–2 Sydney FC Melbourne
19:05 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 3,868
Referee: Chris Beath
2 March 2021 10 Western Sydney Wanderers 0–2 Melbourne City Sydney
19:05 AEDT Report
Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
Attendance: 4,976
Referee: Shaun Evans
6 March 2021 11 Melbourne Victory 0–6 Melbourne City Melbourne
19:10 AEDT Report
Stadium: Marvel Stadium
Attendance: 11,467
Referee: Alireza Faghani
12 March 2021 12 Melbourne City 3–0 Macarthur FC Melbourne
19:05 AEDT
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 4,884
Referee: Alex King
22 March 2021 13 Melbourne City 2–0 Central Coast Mariners Melbourne
19:05 AEDT Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 4,010
Referee: Chris Beath
26 March 2021 14 Melbourne City 4–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Melbourne
19:05 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 5,388
Referee: Alex King
1 April 2021 15 Western United 2–1 Melbourne City Melbourne
17:35 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 6,104
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
5 April 2021 15 Wellington Phoenix 2–3 Melbourne City Wollongong
19:10 AEST
Report
Stadium: WIN Stadium
Attendance: 1,343
Referee: Alireza Faghani
10 April 2021 16 Sydney FC 1–1 Melbourne City Sydney
17:05 AEST Report
Stadium: Leichhardt Oval
Attendance: 7,676
Referee: Alex King
17 April 2021 17 Melbourne City 7–0 Melbourne Victory Melbourne
19:10 AEST
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 14,031
Referee: Chris Beath
24 April 2021 18 Macarthur FC 1–1 Melbourne City Sydney
19:10 AEST
Report Stadium: Campbelltown Stadium
Attendance: 3,027
Referee: Shaun Evans
29 April 2021 19 Melbourne City 3–1 Newcastle Jets Melbourne
19:05 AEST Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 4,314
Referee: Stephen Lucas
5 May 2021 19 Perth Glory 1–3 Melbourne City Perth
19:20 AWST Report
Stadium: HBF Park
Attendance: 0 (No spectators permitted)
Referee: Adam Fielding
9 May 2021 20 Melbourne City 3–2 Brisbane Roar Melbourne
16:05 AEST
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 4,530
Referee: Shaun Evans
13 May 2021 21 Melbourne City 4–1 Adelaide United Melbourne
19:05 AEST
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 3,370
Referee: Alex King
16 May 2021 21 Melbourne City 2–2 Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
16:05 AEST
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 4,586
Referee: Alireza Faghani
22 May 2021 22 Melbourne City 1–0 Central Coast Mariners Melbourne
19:10 AEST
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 8,124
Referee: Shaun Evans
25 May 2021 22 Brisbane Roar 3–0 Melbourne City Brisbane
19:05 AEST
Report Stadium: Dolphin Stadium
Attendance: 3,985
Referee: Alex King
6 June 2021 24 Melbourne Victory 1–1 Melbourne City Melbourne
16:05 AEST
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 0 (No spectators permitted)
Referee: Shaun Evans
10 June 2021 24 Melbourne City 1–2 Newcastle Jets Sydney
19:05 AEST Report Stadium: Jubilee Stadium
Attendance: 0 (No spectators permitted)
Referee: Chris Beath

Finals series

20 June 2021 Semi-final Melbourne City 2–0 Macarthur FC Sydney
16:05 AEST
Report Stadium: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Attendance: 2,283
Referee: Daniel Elder
27 June 2021 Grand Final Melbourne City 3–1 Sydney FC Melbourne
17:05 AEST
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 14,017
Referee: Chris Beath

AFC Champions League

Qualifying play-offs

  Win   Draw   Loss   Cancelled or postponed

7 April 2021 Preliminary round Melbourne City w/o Shan United Melbourne
Source Stadium: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium[32]
21 June 2021 Play-off round Cerezo Osaka Withdrew Melbourne City Bangkok, Thailand
Source

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Includes all competitions. Players with no appearances not included in the list.[33]

No. Pos. Nat. Name A-League Total
Regular season Finals series
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1 GK Tom Glover 250 20 270
2 DF Scott Galloway 15+42 21 213
3 DF Scott Jamieson 192 21 213
4 DF Nuno Reis 13+50 20 200
5 DF Daniel Georgievski 1+20 00 30
7 MF Rostyn Griffiths 18+11 20 211
8 MF Aiden O'Neill 10+20 20 140
9 FW Jamie Maclaren 23+125 00 2425
10 MF Florin Berenguer 17+71 20 261
11 FW Craig Noone 22+16 00 236
13 DF Nathaniel Atkinson 9+31 21 142
14 MF Naoki Tsubaki 8+71 00 151
15 FW Andrew Nabbout 15+13 0+10 173
16 MF Taras Gomulka 3+50 00 80
17 FW Stefan Colakovski 2+172 21 213
18 MF Connor Metcalfe 245 00 245
19 DF Ben Garuccio 9+110 0+10 210
20 MF Adrián Luna 16+63 20 243
22 DF Curtis Good 241 00 241
23 FW Marco Tilio 8+121 21 242
33 GK Matt Sutton 10 00 10
35 FW Raphael Borges Rodrigues 1+20 0+10 40
36 DF Kerrin Stokes 3+10 00 40
39 MF Anthony Lesiotis 0+20 00 20
43 DF Alec Mills 0+30 00 30
49 FW Max Caputo 0+10 00 10

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.

Rank No. Pos. Nat. Name A-League Total
Regular season Finals series
     
1 3 DF Scott Jamieson 410 000 410
2 20 MF Adrián Luna 210 000 210
3 36 DF Kerrin Stokes 110 000 110
4 8 MF Aiden O'Neill 500 100 600
10 MF Florin Berenguer 500 100 600
6 18 MF Connor Metcalfe 400 000 400
7 7 MF Rostyn Griffiths 300 000 300
11 MF Craig Noone 300 000 300
19 DF Ben Garuccio 200 100 300
10 4 DF Nuno Reis 200 000 200
22 DF Curtis Good 200 000 200
23 FW Marco Tilio 100 100 200
43 DF Alec Mills 200 000 200
14 2 DF Scott Galloway 100 000 100
13 DF Nathaniel Atkinson 100 000 100
15 FW Andrew Nabbout 100 000 100
17 FW Stefan Colakovski 000 100 100
Total 3930 500 4430

Clean sheets

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal. Numbers in parentheses represent games where both goalkeepers participated and both kept a clean sheet; the number in parentheses is awarded to the goalkeeper who was substituted on, whilst a full clean sheet is awarded to the goalkeeper who was on the field at the start of play. Goalkeepers with no clean sheets not included in the list.

Rank No. Nat. Goalkeeper A-League Total
Regular season Finals series
1 1 Tom Glover 71 8

Awards

Melbourne City Player of the Month

The winner of the award was chosen via a poll on Twitter.

Month Player Votes Source
December / January  Curtis Good (AUS) 43.6% [34]
March  Andrew Nabbout (AUS) 46.3% [35]

References

  1. "A-League teams Sydney FC, Melbourne City and Brisbane Roar withdrawn from Asian Champions League due to finals schedule". ABC News. 4 June 2021.
  2. "Coronavirus forces FFA Cup to be cancelled". The World Game. SBS. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. "Shock departure as Atkinson joins Perth Glory". Talking City. 1 September 2020.
  4. "Melbourne City fast-track A-League succession plan as Patrick Kisnorbo takes over from Erick Mombaerts". News.com.au. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  5. "Lachlan Wales departs Melbourne City FC". Melbourne City FC. 8 September 2020.
  6. "City rebuild for next season as O'Neill signs for three years". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 September 2020.
  7. "Melbourne City FC Signs Talented Youth Trio". Melbourne City. 21 September 2020.
  8. "Melbourne City re-signs Atkinson, Berenguer and Griffiths". Melbourne City. 23 September 2020.
  9. "Brillante departs Melbourne City". Melbourne City. 23 September 2020.
  10. "Melbourne City FC signs Australian forward Andrew Nabbout". Melbourne City. 24 September 2020.
  11. "Reds sign Gauci ahead of 2020/21 Season". Adelaide United. 7 October 2020.
  12. "Najjarine, Najjar go out on loan". Melbourne City. 8 October 2020.
  13. "Melbourne City FC signs Australian defender Ben Garuccio". Melbourne City. 16 October 2020.
  14. "A-League pre-season report: Victory 3–3 City". Melbourne City FC. 28 November 2020.
  15. "A-League pre-season report: Melbourne City 2–1 Western United". Melbourne City FC. 28 November 2020.
  16. "Garuccio returns to Melbourne in two-year deal with City". The World Game. SBS. 14 October 2020.
  17. "Melbourne City FC signs Japanese attacker Naoki Tsubaki". Melbourne City. 5 December 2020.
  18. "Melbourne City complete signing of Nuno Reis on three-year deal". ESPN. 18 January 2021.
  19. "Lesiotis returns as five Academy products commit to City!". Melbourne City. 21 April 2021.
  20. "Wanderers farewell Georgievski". Western Sydney Wanderers. 29 April 2021.
  21. "Melbourne City FC signs Daniel Georgievski for remainder of A-League season". Melbourne City. 29 April 2021.
  22. Bossi, Dominic (28 July 2020). "Olyroo midfielder Denis Genreau set to sign for Macarthur FC". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  23. Oglos, Peter (23 September 2020). "Xanthi FC make first Aussie purchase acquiring A-League legend". The Greek Herald.
  24. "Reds sign Yaya Dukuly ahead of 2020/21 season". Adelaide United. 27 October 2020.
  25. "Richard Windbichler departs Melbourne City". Melbourne City. 2 December 2020.
  26. Lewis, Dave (5 January 2021). "Melbourne City bag Portuguese defender as Delbridge departs". The World Game. SBS.
  27. "Reds sign Bernardo". Adelaide United. 12 April 2021.
  28. "Team News: City announce squad for Newcastle clash". Melbourne City. 9 June 2021. Out: 5.Daniel GEORGIEVSKI (end of injury replacement period).
  29. "Melbourne City FC locks in key defensive duo". Melbourne City. 11 January 2021.
  30. "City attacker Andrew Nabbout re-signs on three year deal". Melbourne City. 10 June 2021.
  31. "2020/21 A-League Fixture Announcement!". Melbourne City FC. Football Federation Australia. 24 November 2020.
  32. "Melbourne City FC's road to ACL Group Stage confirmed! - Melbourne City".
  33. "Melbourne City Squad: 2020/2021". Soccerway.
  34. "Who is your Etihad Airways January POTM?". Twitter. Melbourne City FC. 2 February 2021.
  35. "Who is your Etihad Airways POTM for March 2021?". Twitter. Melbourne City FC. 4 April 2021.
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