 The match was held atMelbourne Rectangular Stadium | |||||||
| Event | 2024–25 A-League Men | ||||||
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| Date | 31 May 2025 (2025-05-31) | ||||||
| Venue | AAMI Park,Melbourne | ||||||
| Joe Marston Medal | Mathew Leckie (Melbourne City)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Adam Kersey (Queensland)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 29,902[3] | ||||||
| Weather | Cloudy 11 °C (52 °F) 77%humidity[4] | ||||||
←2024 2026 → | |||||||
The2025 A-League Men Grand Final, known officially as theIsuzu UTE A-League Grand Final, was asoccer match played betweencross-city rivalsMelbourne City andMelbourne Victory on 31 May 2025 at their shared home,Melbourne Rectangular Stadium inMelbourne, Australia.
The match determined the champions of theA-League Men and was the 20thA-League Men Grand Final, the culmination of the2024–25 season.[5]
Melbourne City played their first Grand Final since 2023, where they lost 6–1 againstCentral Coast Mariners. This was City's fifth Grand Final in their history, all coming since 2020, having achieved its first championship in2021 againstSydney FC, after losing to Sydney FC in2020[6][7][8] City have also been Premiers three times in the2020–21,2021–22, and2022–23 seasons, whilst finishing second in the2024–25 regular season.[9]
ForMelbourne Victory, this was their second consecutiveA-League Men Grand Final. This was the first time in the club's history that they play in consecutive Grand Finals, having lost in2024 against Central Coast Mariners.[10] This will be Victory's eighth Grand Final in the club's history, with their last championship coming in2018 against theNewcastle Jets and last trophy being the2021 FFA Cup.[11] This would be Victory coach,Arthur Diles' first grand final as head coach, having been an assistant in 2024. Melbourne Victory finished the 2024–25 regular season in fifth place,[12] with the Victory becoming the first team to qualify for the A-League Grand Final after finishing outside the top four.
The match was the 49thMelbourne Derby, and the first in an A-League Grand Final.[13]
In the following table, finals until 2004 were in the National Soccer League era, since 2006 were in the A-League Men era.
| Team | Previous grand final appearances (bold indicates winners) |
|---|---|
| Melbourne City | 4 (2020,2021,2022,2023) |
| Melbourne Victory | 7 (2007,2009,2010,2015,2017,2018,2024) |
Following the regular season, a four-week Finals Series was played to determine the winner of the A-League Championship. The top two highest-placed teams were given a bye into the semi-finals, while third to sixth were drawn into the elimination finals; both third and fourth hosted against the sixth and fifth-placed sides respectively.[14] The winners progressed to a two-legged semi-final, first introduced in the2021–22 season,[15] with the first leg played at the home stadium of the lowest-ranked club.[14] Both legs' results were put into anaggregate score to decide the winners, which would face each other in the Grand Final. Should the aggregate scores were level, the second match would go intoextra time, and then to apenalty shoot-out should the score remained level.[16] Theaway goals rule was not used in the semi-finals.[16] The finalists who placed higher on the table would host the Grand Final.[14]
| Melbourne City | Round | Melbourne Victory | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2024–25 A-League Men 2nd placed
| Regular season | 2024–25 A-League Men 5th placed
Source:A-Leagues | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Score | Elimination-finals | Opponent | Score | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bye | Western Sydney Wanderers | 2–1 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Semi-finals | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western United | 4–1 | 3–0 (A) | 1–1 (H) | Auckland FC | 2–1 | 0–1 (H) | 2–0 (A) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
AfterAurelio Vidmar was appointed as head coach on a full-time basis, City would go into the 2024–25 seasons as a candidate for premiers and strong favourites for making finals.[19][20] City would begin the season with a 1–0 win againstNewcastle Jets, before losing 3–1 against grand final opponents Melbourne Victory.[21][22] City would continue the season staying in finals while steadily staying within finals positions and slowly building toward a second place finish at the end of the season. This would qualify City to the semi final stage of the finals series, as well as qualifying them to the2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite.[9]
City would playWestern United in a two legged match to decide who would qualify into the Grand Final, with Western United making the semi final after beating Adelaide United 3–courtesy of aNoah Botic hattrick.[23] The first leg began with a 16th minute goal byGermán Ferreyra for City, before goals byYonatan Cohen in the 54th minute andMathew Leckie in the 72nd minute City up 3-0 at the end of the first leg.[24]Aziz Behich would open the second leg with a 20th minute goal to put City up, whilst aNoah Botic consolation goal in the 66th minute saw the match end 1–1 with an aggregate score of 4–1.[25] This qualified Melbourne City into the Grand Final, setting up a firstMelbourne Derby Grand Final.[26]
Melbourne Victory's season began with a loss in the2024 Australia Cup final under head coachPatrick Kisnorbo.[27] Kisnorbo later abruptly left the club forYokohama F. Marinos, seeingArthur Diles becoming manager of the club on a temporary basis.[28][29][30] On 31 January 2025, Diles was then signed on a full-time basis.[31]
Victory finished the season in fifth place with a total of 43 points, setting up an awayelimination final against theWestern Sydney Wanderers.[32] Victory wingerDaniel Arzani created both goals, with defenderKasey Bos and midfielderZinédine Machach scoring in the seventh and 42nd minutes, nullifying a Wanderers equaliser in the 23rd minute byZac Sapsford. The match ended 2–1, leading Victory to progress through to thesemi-finals.[33] The first leg of the semi final would be played at Melbourne Victory's home ofAAMI Park on 17 May 2025.[34]Logan Rogerson scored the lone goal for Auckland, leading to Auckland gaining a 1–0 advantage.[35] The second leg would be played at Auckland's home stadium ofGo Media Stadium a week later, with the stadium's capacity increased by 2,700 seats to enable more fans into the stadium.[34][36] In the week before the second leg, Victory defenderBrendan Hamill suffered a rupture of hisanterior cruciate ligament (ACL), seeing previously suspended captainRoderick Miranda take his place in the second leg team.[37] Whilst Auckland held strong in the first half, two quickfire second half goals from Machach andBruno Fornaroli would prove decisive in winning the tie and making the Grand Final.[38][39]
The results of the semi-finals confirmed the Grand Final would be hosted by Melbourne City at their shared home ground,AAMI Park, the following week.[40] AAMI Park has a capacity of 30,050 fans.[41]
The match was the fourth A-League Men Grand Final hosted at the venue, after2015,2021, and the latest edition in2022, all of which featured either Melbourne City or Melbourne Victory.
Tickets went on sale for the match on 26 May.[42] The club members pre-sale saw around 16,000 tickets sold before the public sale. The match officially sold out the following day.[43] It subsequently became the highest attendance atAAMI Park for a sporting event, attracting 29,902 spectators.[44]
The match was broadcast onNetwork 10 andParamount+ for Australian viewers,Sky Sport for New Zealand viewers, andYouTube for some international viewers.[45] Although theregular season was broadcast onESPN3 for viewers in the United States, neither thefinals series nor the Grand Final werebroadcast in the United States, with coverage unavailable on both ESPN and YouTube.[46][47][48]
The officials for the match were confirmed on 29 May.[2] Adam Kersey was named to officiate his first-ever A-League Men Grand Final after being the referee in the second leg semi-final between City and Western United the previous week.[2]
George Lakrindis and Emma Kocbek were named as assistant referees, with Kocbek becoming the first on-field female match official to be appointed to the fixture in the competition’s history. Hugh Fenton-White was named as their reserve.[2]
The fourth official duties were given toShaun Evans, with Lara Lee being named the video assistant referee, along withAlex King and Kearney Robinson being her assistant for the match.[2]
Squads of both clubs for the match were named on 29 May.[49] Melbourne City welcomed the return ofLawrence Wong from injury into the squad, along withHarry Shillington, who was promoted into the first-team squad.Jimmy Jeggo,Andrew Nabbout,Samuel Souprayen,Jayden Necovski andJames Nieuwenhuizen all missed selection through injury.[50]Melbourne Victory sawAdama Traore,Fabian Monge, andKasey Bos all returned to the squad from their second leg semi-final win againstAuckland FC.Brendan Hamill was unavailable due to a knee injury.[51]
The final matchday teams sawMathew Leckie earn a starting position in Melbourne City's XI in place ofAlessandro Lopane, who moved to the bench. Melbourne Victory saw one key change to their starting team, with Kasey Bos replacing the injuredNishan Velupillay.
In the build-up of the match both clubs' supporters marched before the game with a high police presence, causing an atmosphere that was described afterwards as being "overwhelming and unacceptable".[52] The heavy police presence painted the team's supporters in a poor light.[53] the game also had a pre-game entertainment where both clubs would sing their respective pre-match songs ofStand By Me andHappy Together, followed up by a performance celebrating the twenty years of the A-League Men. Both teams’ supporter groups also had displays before the match.
Melbourne Victory started the stronger in the match, forcing early chances and errors from the Melbourne City defence. However, in the 10th minute, a Melbourne City counter-attack lead to an early goal being scored by Israeli wingerYonatan Cohen, after aMax Caputo shot from close distance hit the crossbar before rebounding into Cohen's path. The lead-up play to the goal included a back-heel pass from City captainAziz Behich toAndreas Kuen who initially crossed the ball to Caputo.
In the 19th minute,Mathew Leckie blocked a shot from Victory midfielderZinédine Machach, which proved to be crucial. Five minutes later, a header from Leckie at the other end of the pitch was kept off the goal-line by Victory keeperJack Duncan.
As the first half went on, both teams' defences were proving strong with chances being saved at both ends. Melbourne City went into half time of the grand final with a 1–0 lead.
The second half started with a brilliant save by Duncan after a curling shot from City's first half goal-scorer Cohen 45 seconds into the half. City midfielder Mathew Leckie copped a stray boot from an opponent which required medical attention and a brief pause in play.
In the 64th minute, Melbourne City squandered a golden opportunity to double their lead after an Aziz Behich cross led to a wayward header from Victory centre-backLachlan Jackson, where Jackson fell to ground and the ball fell to Max Caputo, who shot wide despite having Cohen andSteven Ugarkovic wide open across the box with an out of position Jack Duncan.
An open header from Yonatan Cohen in the 76th minute from aMarco Tilio cross went astray which would have put the result beyond doubt, but kept Victory in the match. A call for a penalty to Melbourne Victory after a handball deemed to be natural position was committed in the box by City defenderGermán Ferreyra was denied quickly. Replays showed it striking the arm of the defender, but with his back to the ball the correct decision was made.
With seven minutes of injury time awarded, Victory defenderJosh Rawlins had a chance with a late header, but it flew wide. The match ended 1–0 to Melbourne City, sparking wild celebrations at the south-end of AAMI Park.
        Melbourne City |     Melbourne Victory |
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Man of the Match (Joe Marston Medal): Assistant referees:[2] | Match rules[55]
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The result was City's second A-League Men championship. Victory's defeat meant they had lost two grand finals in a row, and Victory coachArthur Diles' first finals foray was unsuccessful.
Mathew Leckie was awarded theJoe Marston Medal for the best player of the match. It was revealed post-match that Leckie entered the match with a hamstring strain sustained in training in the week leading-up to the match and "a busted nose and other facial injuries" due to an incident during the match.[57]
The match attracted 1.09 million viewers across Network 10, being number 1 in the timeslot for 25 to 45 year olds, and 16 to 39 year olds.
In the aftermath of the game, Melbourne Victory's Managing Director Caroline Carnegie told Sharnelle Vella andRobert Murphy fromABC Radio that the heavy police presence painted the team's supporters in a poor light.[53] Carnegie also stated "We're concerned about A-League fans being marred".[53] In a letter to fans of the evening of 2 June 2025, Melbourne Victory chairman John Dovaston said the scenes were "overwhelming and unacceptable".[52] These reports overshadowed a well run and amazing night.
Five days after the match, City captainAziz Behich scored a 90th minute winner for theSocceroos in aWorld Cup qualifier againstJapan, which effectively qualified his nation to the2026 FIFA World Cup the following year.[58]
City's Championship triumph took place in front of 29,902 fans – an attendance record for a sporting event at AAMI Park.
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