Melbourne City 5-0 Lion City Sailors
by Isabelle Campbell (13/11/25)
Above: Melbourne City celebrate during their commanding opening performance of the 2025/26 AFC Women’s Champions League. Photo: via AFC
Melbourne City made a commanding statement in their AFC Women’s Champions League opener, cruising to a 5-0 win over Singapore’s Lion City Sailors with clinical finishing and dominant possession.
After coming agonisingly close to the title last season only to fall in the final on penalties, Michael Matricciani’s side arrived determined to start their new campaign on the right note.
The first half started at a slow pace, with Melbourne City gradually finding their rhythm. The first real chance came from Leticia McKenna, whose effort lacked the power to trouble Sailors’ goalkeeper Izairida Shakira.
City’s next significant opportunity came from a corner. Alexia Apostolakis delivered the ball into the box, where captain Rebekah Stott rose to meet it. Although her shot was blocked, it struck the arm of a Sailors defender, earning City a penalty. Holly McNamara stepped up confidently and slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner to give City their first of the afternoon.
Aideen Keane tested Shakira soon after, forcing the goalkeeper into a save, though the scoreline remained unchanged. As the half wore on, McKenna continued to probe for a goal but was unable to convert her chances.
With only minutes remaining in the first half, City were awarded a second penalty after Danella Butrus was brought down in the box. Once again, McNamara was precise from the spot, doubling the lead. In the dying moments of added time, McKenna finally found the back of the net, but the effort was ruled out for offside. City went into the break leading 2-0, having controlled 73% of the possession.
The first big moment of the second half came in the 54th minute when Apostolakis fired from outside the box, giving City a commanding lead. Soon after, Butrus made the most of her first-ever professional start, scoring to make it 4-0.
City then handed debuts to Kaya Jugovic and Keira Sarris, giving both players their first taste of professional action as the team continued to dominate. In the 73rd minute, the scoreboard ticked over again, this time courtesy of an own goal as the Sailors looked disorganised in front of goal.
The rest of the half passed without much action, as City comfortably managed possession and kept the Sailors at bay. After eight minutes of added time, the whistle blew to confirm a commanding 5-0 win to City, a strong performance to kick off their AFC Women’s Champions League campaign.
Teams: MELBOURNE CITY: Barbieri, Apostolakis, Stott, Otto, Turner, Hughes, Davidson, McKenna, Butrus, Keane, McNamara. Substitutes: Aoyagi, Mieres, Henry, Jacksen, Jugovic, Karic, McMahon, Rako, Roestbakken, Sarris, Uchendu.
Goals: 10’, 45+1’ McNamara, 55’ Apostolakis, 58’ Butrus, 73’ OG
LION CITY SAILORS: Shakira, Jiaxin, Hamdan, Kitagawa, Ramji, Ruzi, Ee, Takeuchi, Shibusawa, Salleh, Qasimah. Substitutes: Lim, Nurerwadah, Qiaoling, Putri, Irwan, Anwar, Naszri, Nashirah, Lim, Nurzahirah, Chu, Ng.
Referee: Oh Hyeon Jeong
Attendance: 502.
Follow Impetus on social media:
@ImpetusFootball on X, Instagram and TikTok.
impetusfootball.org 