It is safe to say Nani was unhappy with the refereeing in Saturday night’s derby as 10-man Melbourne Victory crashed to a 2-0 defeat to Melbourne City.
City claimed bragging rights in front of a big crown at AAMI Park, where the blockbuster showdown was decided in an entertaining first half.
Two goals in the space of three minutes – a Jamie Maclaren penalty after Nani conceded the spot-kick and a Cadete own goal – put City 2-0 ahead before Victory captain Josh Brillante was sent off for a second yellow card approaching half-time.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, marquee man Nani and Victory continued to push forward but they came away emptyhanded for the second straight week.
Afterwards, Manchester United and Portugal great Nani made it clear how he felt about the officiating in the Melbourne Derby.
“I feel we were the better team. We had our chances and couldn’t score. We started the game much better than them,” Nani, who was penalised for stepping on Mathew Leckie, told Network 10 post-match.
“There are small details. The penalty, the red card. The red card for me is not a red card. There is a foul for me.
The referee can be better. This is a derby. The stadium is full. He kills the game. He kills the spectacle.
“We want the full stadium, we want people to come to see the games. If it’s like that, it won’t happen anytime soon.
“It’s not an excuse. We work hard and we will come back. This team showed great attitude after one man down and that does matter. There are a lot of games. We will work hard to come back, no worries.”
‘I feel like Donnie Brasco’: All eyes on Kisnorbo
Melbourne City head coach Patrick Kisnorbo is the subject of A-Leagues All Access’ upcoming episode.
In the third behind-the-scenes documentary, All Access cameras followed Kisnorbo in the lead up and during Saturday’s Melbourne Derby, with the episode to air on Thursday night.
The cameras were in the change room as Kisnorbo spoke to Network 10’s Michael Zappone in the aftermath of his team’s 2-0 success.
“[It’s] Different. I feel like Donnie Brasco. But it’s great for the game. I’m happy to participate,” said Kisnorbo.
What can we learn about him?
“Football is about opinions, so I don’t know,” the former Australia defender responded.
“I wear my heart on my sleeve and I’m passionate. I want to work hard, I want the team to improve, I want to improve, I want the club to get better.”
City, who lost in the Grand Final last season, have a 100% record heading into Round 4 but Kisnorbo wasn’t completely satisfied with the performance, especially in the second half.
“I think when you look at it, the second half, we dropped a bit. With 10 men, we had chances to score,” he said.
“I wanted us a bit more in the second half. But overall, the way it was played, I’m really happy with the team and the character they showed tonight.”
Popovic: We were better from start to finish
Melbourne Victory were beaten by their rivals, but it was a different feeling for head coach Tony Popovic.
After going down to Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 in Round 2, Victory fired another blank in a 2-0 defeat against Melbourne City on home soil.
However, Popovic told reporters: “We’re disappointed. It was a strange match, last week I sat here very frustrated with our performance but today it’s more disappointment for the players because I think today they were excellent.
“They played really well with 10 players and our first 20 minutes were outstanding but you find yourself 2-0 down.”
“We gave away a soft penalty and a soft goal off a corner. That’s our doing. We had a couple of wonderful chances. Josh (Brillante) had a great chance at 0-0 and then we conceded two goals close to each other.”
“I thought they showed a lot of resilience and a lot of belief to believe they could still get back into the game…I thought with 10 men we were excellent.”
“I thought we were the better team from the start until the end. The scoreline doesn’t reflect that.”
SATURDAY RECAP
WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS 1-1 BRISBANE ROAR
MATCH REPORT: AUSTIN OPENS HIS ACCOUNT IN ROAR DRAW
NEWCASTLE JETS 3-1 WELLINGTON PHOENIX
MATCH REPORT: JETS SOAR TO BACK-TO-BACK WINS
