Muscat: Wanderers better than results suggest

Melbourne Victory boss Kevin Muscat believes that the Hyundai A-League table is not a fair reflection of Western Sydney Wanderers’ form.

The Wanderers sit eighth with just one win from their first five matches of the 2018/19 Season and face a tricky trip to Melbourne for Saturday evening’s clash against Victory, which is LIVE and FREE on 10 Boss or tenplay from 7.30pm AEDT.

Victory have hit form, with three successive wins taking them up to second on the table.

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But Muscat said that to define form by results was only “one way of looking at it”.

“We’re very, very respectful of Western Sydney,” the Victory boss told reporters on Friday. 

“They created a hell of a lot chances last week [in a 2-0 loss to Newcastle].

“They’re number one in the league for shots on target. Number one in the league for chances created.

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“We’ve prepared for that rather than what the scoreboard has been telling us.

“From analysing them, they have been chopping and changing and really haven’t settled on an 11 if you like.

“They’ve got some pace in wide areas and obviously a very good striker [in Oriol Riera] and, as I said, they’ve been creating a lot of chances."

Muscat was happy with Ola Toivonen’s contribution and goal in last week’s 2-1 defeat of Sydney FC but said he was unsure whether the Swedish forward was ready to play a full 90 minutes.

Toivonen


Despite that, Muscat said Toivonen would only get better as the season continued and that he was very impressed by the early signs.

“The understanding between the team and Ola, and vice versa, will continue to grow," he said.

“He made some really good contributions last week, some really good runs. He’s a clever footballer.”

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This article was originally published on the Hyundai A-League website.
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