Winners:
The Olyroos
Australia’s destiny is in its own hands in the AFC U23 Championship after a come-from-behind win against tournament hosts Thailand, in front of 22,000 people.
A second half brace from Nick D’Agostino sealed the win and – barring a catastrophe – Australia’s place in the next round of the tournament.
An arduous challenge was set for the Olyroos, who came up against a Thai side at home fresh off a 5-0 win against Bahrain.
Despite dominating the first half, the hosts drastically fell away late which allowed Australia to ultimately steal the victory.
Graham Arnold made six changes to the line-up, as well as introducing Melbourne City midfielder Denis Genreau – whose impact in the second half was profound – off the bench.
A-League regulars Reno Piscopo and Thomas Deng continued to impress, while Alex Gersbach showed what he was capable of with a clinical pass across the box to feed D’Agostino for the winning goal.
Australia meets Bahrain in their final group match on Wednesday morning.
Ulises Davila
Ulises is taking the league by storm – steering this Wellington Phoenix odyssey – as he notched up his tenth league goal in 13 games.
Davila opened the scoring at the weekend as the Phoenix rolled on to record its sixth win of the season – in front of a strong home crowd against the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Fortunately for the Phoenix fans they have not spent this season dwelling on the departure of Roy Krishna, with their new Mexican hero proving to be the perfect replacement for the Johnny Warren medalist, with Davila entering as a strong contender for the award this season.
Milan
Milan fans have not had too many reasons to smile this season, but even the most cynical fan would have enjoyed the weekend’s win over Caligiari.
Not only did the Rossoneri record an impressive away win against a top-six side, but celebrated Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s return in style with the Swedish legend scoring his first goal of the season.
The win could act as a catalyst for Milan who meet SPAL, Udinese, Brescia and Verona – four bottom ten sides – before what could be a massive derby against bitter rivals Inter.
Losers
Western Sydney Wanderers
The great shining light at the club that is the Wanderers W-League outfit suffered its first defeat of the season, going down 4-0 at home to the Brisbane Roar.
Coming off the bye and an impressive win against the Chinese national team on the Gold Coast, the Wanderers were outclassed by a determined Roar side led by Hayley Raso.
The performance was uncharacteristic nonetheless, which sees the Wanderers fall six points behind league leaders Melbourne City on the table.
Melbourne Victory
A Matt Simon brace in stoppage time broke the internet – as well as Victory hearts – as the Central Coast Mariners recorded their first win over Melbourne Victory in seven years.
A loss seemed highly unlikely for the Victory, who lead 2-1 going into stoppage time.
Though two penalties and one brawl later and the Victory players were left licking their wounds, as their run of consecutive wins came to an end.
While the side does jump into the top six after Adelaide’s heavy loss at the hands of Perth Glory, Victory miss the chance to jump Western United and truly make a bold statement.
Aston Villa
It was a dirty day at the office for the Villa, who were obliterated at home against a Manchester City side back to its devastating best.
Manchester City hardly needed any time to take control of the match, leading 4-0 at the break before running out 6-1 winners.
Sergio Aguero’s hattrick sees him become the Premier League’s fifth highest goal scorer – overtaking Thierry Henry – as he notched up his 176th top-flight goal.
Adding to Villa’s pain is the fact they now sit in the relegation zone with a -15 goal difference.
Featured Image: AAP
