Final thoughts

So, it turned out much as expected – tonight was the David Villa show, even though he played just under a half of football. The Spaniard proved he has lost none of his eye for goal and he stands to be a big hit during his brief stint in Australia. Melbourne City can take heart, as it were, from that but they will need to make hay while the sun shines as they showed that they still have a bit of work to do at the back. Sydney, meanwhile, can be encouraged by their second half performance, if not their start to the match, and with several big names still to come into the side, Graham Arnold’s side have got off to a solid, if unspectacular start to the new season. It’s good to be back. See you next time.

A couple on on-pitch interviews at full-time. First up Damian Duff does his best not to laugh in the face of the interviewer who asks how he found the pace of the game. Duffer grimaces and says he’s played in fast-paced games for 20 years, but nevertheless “it was tough”.

“It was a very happy moment for me. It’s been a long time coming. It was good to get under way to see where we’re at.”

Alex Brosque: It was a little bit frustrating with Antonis’ shot at the end. But probably a fair result in the end.”

“The great man himself” David Villa interviewed by and interpreted through John Aloisi: “He’s happy.”

90 min: Sydney, with youngsters Burgess and Gersbach at the heart of it, overplay things down the left hand side and in the end they can’t even settle for a corner.

Email! “Evening Mike,” writes Phil Withall. “According to a Fox sports survey nearly 70% of respondents think Villa is the best overseas signing in the A League. Quite a call on 40 minutes football. Broich still wins that call for me (puts on tin hat).” Snap judgements are the lifeblood of sport, Phil.

89 min: Off the bar! What an effort by Antonis, who takes on a volley from fully 30 yards and cracks it against the bar! Burgess has a chance to knock in the rebound with his first touch in professional football but he makes a hash of it and can’t find the target. So close to a late winner for the hosts.

88 min: Finally Burgess replaces Gameiro, who departs to a decent ovation, no doubt for that cracking finish earlier on. Right out of the top draw.

85 min: It looks like Sydney are settling for a point. At least that’s how I interpret that hoof forward to no one in particular by Ognenovski. And they should be happy with a draw given how poorly they started the match.

83 min: The game’s entered a bit of a lull, which is strange, given there’s less than 10 minutes left and now is the time to be pushing hard for a late winner.

81 min: Max Burgess is still waiting to come. He thought he got the nod earlier but Graham Arnold seems to have changed his mind. Reports that he is the fifth (and oft forgotten) sibling in the famous rugby league family are unconfirmed.

78 min: Gameiro attempts an audacious volley from the edge of the area and, perhaps unsurprisingly, even for a player as in form as he is, the ball balloons high into the Cove behind Redmayne’s goal.

74 min: Just over 15 to play and it’s anyone’s game really. Although City are keeping possession well and playing some neat football around Duff.

73 min: The ref calls back play to sanction Mooy after a late trip on Dimitrijevic and the City player goes into the ref’s notebook. Meanwhile, Dugandzic is hauled off by City and replaced by another debutant Marco Marino.

69 min: 17-year-old Gersbach comes on for Sydney to make his A-League debut, replacing Jurman. And he can boast to his mates later that he shared a pitch with a World Cup winner.

68 min: Another six to go for Villa to avoid disappointment. And he could very nearly have had a second just now as Dugandzic pings a low drive across the face of goal with the Spaniard sniffing around like the deadly predator he is.

65 min: Sydney respond well to conceding and Antonis lets fly with a stinging effort that Redmayne does well to deal with.

59 min: All of a sudden Sydney are full of confidence and looking like scoring a second. Unbelievable. I blame City’s introduction of David Villa. Awful decision.

52 min: If Villa doesn’t score at least seven tonight, it’ll be a disappointment. (He’s still to get his first touch.)

50 min: Blackwood’s debut is over as Graham Arnold make Sydney’s first change of the night. Not sure if anyone was expecting anything else from the youngster, but he was quiet. Triantis is the man who enters the fray.

48 min: HERE HE IS! David Villa takes his bow in Australian football, on for James Brown and to a rather mixed reception. Can you believe there are some boos? Seriously.

47 min: You fear for Sydney if Villa gets on. They’ve been missing a cutting edge in front of goal. That’s something that the Spaniard certainly possesses.

Peeeep! Here we go again then. No substitutions to tell you about just yet, but it doesn’t look like Villa will be much longer on the sidelines. He’s in earnest discussions with City staff in between continuing warm-up routines.

Guardian Australia news editor Mike Ticher is possibly the only man in the southern hemisphere able to keep his head in the face of intense Villamania.

45+1 min: One minute of additional time is played out before the whistle goes and the teams head in locked at 0-0, although City will be the happier of the two sides having created the better chances and enjoyed more of the ball. Time for a ‘comfort break’, back for the second half – and hopefully the introduction of Signor Villa.

44 min: Villa had retired early to the sheds, possibly in readiness for a half-time introduction. He’s pictured warming up with a member of City’s medical staff and we could well be seeing the Spaniard soon!

42 min: Duff sends over a looping cross, from the left hand side this time, and it’s safety first for Sydney as the ball is headed behind for a corner. City can’t make anything of it though.

38 min: Sydney are in need of some inspiration here and they find some from Brosque who again gets the better of his man on the right before delivering a decent cross into the middle. But Kisnorbo is there like giant leaping salmon clad in a red and white shirt to head behind for a corner.

36 min: Carle is in the thick of things at the moment. He’s a little late on Ramsay and referee Green has no choice but to take his name. Certain sections of the crowd think Ramsay may have made a little bit more of the challenge than he should have and boos ring out.

33 min: Here’s Carle though, latching onto Brosque’s cut back from the by-line after a bristling run, but the former Socceroo can only leather the ball high and wide of its intended target, which one presumes was the net.

30 min: So, half an hour gone at Allianz and it’s still goalless, although it’s City who have probably edged play so far. Certainly they’ve gone closest to breaking the deadlock.

28 min: It’s another decent crowd tonight. Not sure we’ll hit the heights of last night’s 30,000 in Melbourne, but nevertheless a tidy amount. Early 20,000s is my guess (based on nothing more than a hunch).

25 min: Antonis goes into the book for an agricultural challenge on Mooy. Deserved.

22 min: Watching the different interpretations of the game on the two clubs’ official Twitter feeds is an absolute joy. Exhibit A from earlier:

22 min: City are looking likely at the moment, largely thanks to some pretty schoolboy defending by Sydney. The visitors manage to keep up the pressure and Janjetovic is called into action by a crisp Dugandzic effort.

19 min: Oh dear, what a misjudgement by Ognenovski, who allows Dugandzic a run clear through on goal! But the City striker’s finish is nearly as bad as the defensive slip and his attempted open-up-your-body-and-curl-the-ball-into-the-far-corner-a-la-Thierry-Henry loops wide of the mark.

17 min: Carle makes slight amends with a lovely ball to find Gameiro but the youngster slips on the turf and the chance goes begging.

14 min: Carle shows his frustration slightly as he barges over Dugandzic, about 30 yards out, fairly central. This could be a shooting opportunity for City. Brown steps over allowing Mooy to hit a low drive which should be a regulation save for Janjetovic, but the Sydney keeper spills it and the ball skews behind for corner. City can’t make anything of it though.

10 min: Gameiro cuts inside now and lets fly with a decent effort that Redmayne has to be alert to get across to. First effort of note for Sydney, that one.

Meanwhile, first interaction of the night - thanks for the update from the Cove, Phat. Red sky or sky blue? You seem confused.

7 min: Sydney are yet to get going really. A foray forward breaks down and City break down to the other end of the pitch where Aaron Mooy very nearly gets on the end of a fantastic Brown clipped ball into the box.

5 min: There are those (cynics) who would say Brown should have done better there. He had the goal at his mercy and was under no pressure from any sky blue shirts.

4 min: Oooh! What a chance for City! Duff is the architect, rolling a neat pass inside from the right wing to James Brown, who crashes a sidefooter off the bar!

2 min: An early free-kick is awarded to City, but Mooy’s delivery when given the chance to get the ball into the box is woeful and the ball sails over everyone’s heads and out for a goal kick. Cue sarky cheers from the home fans.

Peeeeep! And off we go at Allianz! Sydney kicking from left to right, as we look at it on the TV.

Here come the teams, the Sydney players flanked on both sides by mascots, to a rousing reception from the home faithful, especially those in the Cove, who wave a flurry of sky blue flags. Melbourne are in their Heart colours – red and white stripes – tonight. Kick-off is just around the corner!

David Villa is a sublime footballer, no doubt, but things are getting a bit ridiculous on the telly here – some betting bloke has just appeared, all dressed up as a ‘stereotypical’ Spaniard, complete with ‘Spanish’ accent, to tell us of the Villa specials tonight – stuff like how he will celebrate a goal if he scores.

The early season award for making a liveblogger’s life easy goes to... Melbourne City FC! Congratulations, your prize is in the post.

This is amazing.

Proof, if it were needed, of Manchester City’s global vision.

Ibini might be thousands of miles away, but he’s still thinking of his new team-mates.

Oh, amid all the excitement, I forgot to mention that it would be an absolute pleasure to receive some feedback/interaction from you, The Readers, tonight. Thoughts on the game and the upcoming season as a whole, amusing musings, jokes, photos, videos and, as ever, bank account details, are most welcome. Email: mike.hytner.casual@guardian.co.uk or tweet @mike_hytner. I’ll kick things off with a joke for you: a horse walks into a police station…

In case you missed it, the Socceroos were in action overnight. I use the term ‘action’ in the loosest possible sense, given their lethargic display in the searing Middle Eastern heat. Anyway, it ended goalless against the UAE. Read the full match report here.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings for the moment, here’s what respected Guardian Australia writer Paul Connolly thinks of tonight’s match, the Sky Blue Derby as he neatly terms it:

Much has been said about Melbourne Heart’s reinvention as Melbourne City, but Sydney FC have undergone a change of their own in the off-season. While it hasn’t involved anything quite so radical as a name and kit change brought on by new foreign owners with access to enormous oil reserves and guest players of the calibre of David Villa (who’s in the City squad for Saturday night), Sydney’s transformation has been structurally and, perhaps even culturally, significant. With Frank Farina moved on, and Alessandro del Piero now dodging traffic in Delhi, Sydney will start afresh with Graham Arnold on the sidelines and, on the pitch, a cadre of new recruits. Sydney rarely seemed to have a plan last season, much less a philosophy, so their fans will be hoping to see evidence of both – with a good side order of attacking football. Served by the likes of Bernie Ibini, Alex Brosque, Shane Smeltz, Austrian marquee, Marc Janko, and in-form incumbent Corey Gameiro, this should be forthcoming. City, meantime, will be hungry to distance themselves from the team that secured last season’s wooden spoon. The City revolution could take time, but the likes of Damien Duff, Robert Koren, Erik Paartalu and, yes, that man Villa (Will he get some game time this week? Should he double up on shin pads?) aren’t here to make up the numbers.

Sydney FC meanwhile provide an intriguing counter-narrative to Melbourne City. The traditional glamour club of the A-League is in the middle of something of a transformation, from Del Piero-boasting, glitzy showoffs to a rather more demure, organised beast that might actually be capable of competing for this season’s silverware. New manager Graham Arnold has bought wisely and will be sure to instil a sense of quiet, determined purpose, something that has perhaps been lacking for a couple of seasons at Moore Park.

And whilst we’re at it, I googled ‘Robert Koren highlights’ and this is what the computer spat out at me (it’s not all tap-ins, deflected shots, headers and penalties, there’s an absolute pearler on three minutes).

And in the interests of balance, here’s what Duff is capable of. Kind of the same, but, er, different. Much different.

Speaking of Villa (and because I’ve hardly heard mention of his name this past week), now is probably a good time to get the juices flowing with what we hope to see from him over the course of the next couple of months. Quite how number 19 is at number 19 is beyond me – look at it! Just look! That’s one of the greatest goals I’ve ever seen.

Melbourne City FC take their A-League bow for the first time since Manchester City stuck their oily nozzle into a heart-shaped fuel tank hole and pumped the club full of petrol dollars, giving them a new name, a new kit, new players, new hope and quite possibly a new identity complex in the process.

Of City’s new recruits, one stands head and shoulders above the others, the one who has had the Australian footballing community drooling in anticipation since he agreed to move down under. But despite being a renowned international, famous for his pace, skill and eye for goal, of diminutive stature but a giant of world football (can you see where this is going?), a man who turned his back on Europe to pursue a different challenge in a foreign land (can you?), a player who has the ability to become the A-League’s finest import to date (oh, come on)... tonight won’t just be about Damian Duff. Some bloke called David Villa should also make his City debut at some stage at Allianz Stadium, along with the likes of Erik Paartalu and Robert Koren.

Mike will be here shortly so in the meantime why not catch up with what happened in last night’s A-League season 10 opener in Melbourne, which Victory won 4-1 against a ragged-looking Western Sydney Wanderers. Joe Gorman was at Etihad Stadium for us and you can read his full report here:

If the Wanderers are the masters at parking the bus, this was more reminiscent of Otto at the steering wheel after a few too many brekky bongs.