Melbourne City FC has wrapped up its E-League season with a fourth-placed finish, following the conclusion of Matchday 2 on Saturday night.
Marcus Gomes ended in fifth place on the Xbox with six wins, while in his debut season MikeJFIFA was one of the shining lights of the competition, finishing third on Playstation.
Round 6 – City 3-2 Perth
As they did in Matchday 1, things got off to a strong start for MikeJ, City taking a two-goal lead thanks to a double to TOTY Cristiano Ronaldo. There were some tense moments late for City after Ruud Gullit saw red and Perth were able to draw one back, but some stoic defending handed City the 2-1 lead after the first leg.
The tight end to the first leg seemed to transfer over to the second, with Gomes up for the first time of the day. City were on the back foot and all seemed to be lost trailing 1-2 with the aggregate tied up at 2-apiece, only for R9 to pop up with a stoppage-time equaliser to give City the win on aggregate.
Madness from @MarcusGomesFIFA and @saisanasp!!@EASPORTSFIFAANZ
📺: https://t.co/CciJx3f6yD pic.twitter.com/ICHb0EeGiZ— E-League (@ELeagueAus) April 24, 2021
Round 7 – City 0-3 Sydney FC
Unfortunatley the strong City form couldn’t be carried over to the next round with both MikeJ and Gomes unable to find the back of the net across the two legs, last season’s champions Sydney FC eventually running out winners 0-3.
Round 8 – City 8-3 Brisbane
Things got off to a shaky start for MikeJ and City, going down 0-1 early against Brisbane. Eager to avoid a repeat of the last round, things turned quickly for City. Five unanswered goals absolutely blew the Roar out of the water in a dominant display and astounding turnaround. A brace to TOTY Kylian Mbappe as well as goals to R9, Pele and TOTY Ronaldo had City comfortably 5-1 in front heading into the second leg.
While it may not have been as dominant a display as we saw over on the Playstation, Gomes was able to secure his first win of the night. R9 was the first on the scoresheet before a double to TOTY Ronaldo secured the result for City – a big 8-3 win on aggregate and 3-2 result to Gomes.
Round 9 – City 9-4 Western United
It was a slow start on the Xbox with neither team able to break through until late in the first half when TOTY Mbappe opened scoring, sparking a goalfest. Western answered straight away before Mbappe quickly restored the advantage just before the half-time whistle. Western were able to once again equalise before hitting the lead with ten minutes to play. All seemed lost for MikeJ and City as the seconds ticked down but it was TOTY Mbappe to the rescue, getting back on level terms in the 87th after some fancy feet in the box.
A big performance was needed from Gomes with the aggregate at 3-3 and a big performance is exactly what he delivered, getting back to his best. First half goals to R9 and TOTY Mbappe had City cruising early, before it turned into the TOTY Ronaldo show (three goals) with Pele also getting on the scoresheet late.
I know we said we're moving into #ALeague mode but @MarcusGomesFIFA just smashed WUFC's Dylan 6-1! Unreal performance 👏
City taking the round 9 clash 9-4 on aggregate!#CmonCity | #ELeague
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) April 24, 2021
Round 10 – City 6-3 Wellington
MikeJ needed to bounce back after being held to a draw the round previous, and bounce back he did. A strong performance from City saw it shoot out to a 4-0 lead with two goals to TOTY Mbappe the highlight. Wellington were able to pull back a couple of late ones to get some respect back into the scoreline, but City still led by two goals on aggregate after the first leg.
An early goal in the second leg to Phoenix had it right back in the contest but Gullit was able to level things up right on the stroke at halftime. The eventual winner came in the 64th minute via the boot of TOTY Ronaldo, securing Gomes a third consecutive win.
Round 11 – City 6-8 Western Sydney
Things got out of hand quickly for MikeJ, Western Sydney storming out of the blocks to hold an 0-3 lead with just half an hour in the books. It was City’s turn to do the same in the second half – but even quicker – three goals coming in the space of just 15 minutes, Pele, R9 and an eventual own goal after a TOTY Mbappe shot-on-target equalising proceedings. It was a tight finish but unfortunately it was the Wanderers finding the late winner.
It was a almost an exact repeat on the Xbox, Gomes also going down 3-0 but fighting back hard. TOTY Bruno Fernandes drew one back before the Wanderers made it 4-1, R9 netting twice late to finish with the same 3-4 scoreline we saw in the first leg.
Your Premiers are flying high! @NewcastleJetsFC take home the bacon and soar above the rest on the Ladder.
What a conclusion to the NIVEA Men #ELeague tournament.
Happy with where your team ended up? pic.twitter.com/r8gG6W9LQ7
— E-League (@ELeagueAus) April 24, 2021
