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Postecoglou’s J-League champions were at their best, dominating possession and the chances against a shell-shocked Sky Blues side.
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According to Fox Football expert Mark Bosnich, Yokohama ‘were on a different planet’ to the A-League’s runaway leaders – but we shouldn’t necessarily slam the domestic competition.
With Sydney, Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory all tasting defeat in the continental cup this week, there has been widespread criticism of Australia’s footballing standard.
For much of Yokohama’s stunning victory over Sydney, the gulf in class was clear. Former Socceroo Bosnich said that at times, the match looked like “a first team playing against the under 15s.”
Fellow ex-Socceroo Robbie Slater was in agreement, calling it “one of the best performances I’ve seen in the competition.”
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Sydney entered the match having not played in three weeks following the cancellation of a pair of A-League fixtures. And captain Alex Wilkinson admitted the players were ‘rusty’, as they struggled to maintain possession throughout the match.
While the Sky Blues were well below their best, the Marinos were simply superb.
As Bosnich said, “I think it’s one of the best performances I’ve witnessed from an Asian team in all the time that we’ve been doing the Champions League.
“The bottom line is this: They were on a different planet. They were on a different planet tonight.”
But instead of criticising the standard of Australia’s domestic league, Bosnich claims stakeholders should focus on learning lessons from rivals in order to compete in the future.
“That is the benchmark, now how do we get there and how quickly can we do it?
“We need to start motoring in terms of getting in that direction.”