Melbourne City vs Melbourne victory: A-League Derby Final Battle, Melbourne City vows to destroy the heart

When the smoke of the final filled the AAMI Park Stadium, a place called "home" by the two Melbourne heroes, an unprecedented derby final battle kicked off. This is not only the final battle for the highest honor of the Australian Super League, but also a life-and-death showdown on the "Derby Throne" staged by two mortal enemies in the city in their "backyard".

Melbourne City: The "Derby Devil" who is the "second best" in the regular season?

Melbourne City, the regular season ended in second place, seemed to be stable all the way, ambitiously rushing to their second championship in team history (after 2021). They have been in a hot state recently, remained unbeaten in eight games (five wins), and only suffered one defeat in 13 games. All the data points to them being the more dominant side. Left-back Aziz Besic scored a key goal in the semi-finals, which even sent them to the finals steadily.

However, there are always some "destiny that cannot be explained by logic". Facing the victory of Melbourne, Melbourne City seemed to have been imposed with a "derby curse" - they have never won in the past seven confrontations! What is even more tense is that in 2024, they lost three consecutive derby losses, including last year's playoff knockout, losing to their opponents in a cruel way in the penalty shootout. It's like a huge psychological shadow, shrouding the road to Melbourne City's championship.

Although AAMI Park is their home court and only lost one game here in 2025, in this "common home", facing the derby opponent who can always "unexpectedly", can Melbourne City truly cut off the "intelligence" and transform hard power into glory of victory?

Melbourne Victory: The "Derby Miracle" of the counterattack journey?

Melbourne won, as the "challengers" who advanced to the playoffs in the fifth place in the regular season, their path to the finals was itself a "inspirational drama". In the semi-finals, facing the regular season champion Oakland, they finally reversed and advanced with a total score of 2-1 in the second leg when they were behind 0-1 in the first leg. This kind of resilience in "surviving in adversity" is their greatest wealth.

Although the Victory team has only won three of the last six games, its overall momentum is not as good as Melbourne City, and it also faces the dilemma of many main players in the attacking line (including Mahbach, Velupilai and Alzani) being absent due to injuries, captain Hamil also has a high card exemption due to ligament injury. This team with a disorganized lineup seems to be at a disadvantage in terms of data.

But don't forget that they had the "metaphysical restraint" against Melbourne City! In addition, last year, they lost 1-3 to the Central Coast Mariners in the A-League finals. They were the painful experience of leading the game but being tied and being reversed in overtime will undoubtedly become a huge driving force for "revenge" in this game. Can they go to the end against Melbourne City's "Derby Miracle" and finally touch the championship trophy in adversity?

Ultimate showdown: Who can crown the "King of the City"?

This game is the "self-salvation" of Melbourne City and the "glory and revenge" of Melbourne's victory. On one hand, there are "powerful people" but "psychological burden", and on the other hand, there are "injured soldiers in the camp" but there are "derby halo". AAMI Park, a place that has witnessed countless Melbourne derbys, will witness the birth of a "Champion Derby". The gap between the curse of history and reality is intertwined at this moment. Who can truly become the crowned "king of the same city" in this final of "home"?

Predicted score: Melbourne City 2-1 Melbourne victory (Melbourne City struggled to break the inner demons and won the victory)