Melbourne Victory’s away woes in the AFC Champions League continued with a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Chinese powerhouse Guangzhou Evergrande on Wednesday night.
Kevin Muscat’s side made the worst possible start, conceding twice in the first 10 minutes with goals from Brazilian attacker Anderson Talisca.
And it got worse from there as China international Yang Liyu added a third after 42 minutes, before an unfortunate own goal from Leigh Broxham 18 minutes from time completed the rout.
The result means Victory have now extended their dismal run to 21 games away from home in the ACL without registering a single win.
“At the end of the day, I think we made too many mistakes. Against a quality team, they punish you every time and you can’t afford to make them,” Victory skipper Carl Valeri said on the club’s official website.
“They just have that quality, especially in the front half of the field, where they can really take control of the game and even against the run of play they can punish you.
“I think we have to take this lesson and it’s happened to us a couple of times. I think our style of football sometimes clashes, but I think we could’ve been better definitely in our transition phase.”
At the halfway point of the group stage, Victory’s hopes of progression appear forlorn.
They are bottom of the Group F without a single point, while the other three clubs – Guangzhou, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Daegu FC – are all locked on six points.
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Victory will now turn their attention back to Hyundai A-League duties as they host Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park on Sunday (Kick-off 5pm AEST).
