Sydney FC stamped their class on A-League with big win over Wanderers, writes Robbie Slater

WHAT a statement from Sydney FC at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.All you can do is applaud their masterclass, writes Robbie Slater.

Sydney FC players celebrate their big win over Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night.

WHAT a statement from Sydney FC at ANZ Stadium last night.

All you can do is applaud their masterclass in what is their biggest game of the season - the Sydney derby.

The table simply doesn’t lie; there was a gulf in class between the Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC. Looking at the team sheets before the game you thought it, and then it happened. With a 5-0 win - the most comprehensive victory in derby history - Sydney stamped their class on the competition with an incredible performance, capped off with five spectacular goals.

MATCH: Sydney put Wanderers to the sword

And the margin of victory could have been far greater if they’d taken all their chances in the first half.

Sydney FC’s Adrian Mierzejewski celebrates scoring against Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night.

Then there was Adrian Mierzejewski, who stamped his individual class on the competition. It has to be said that Graham Arnold’s recruitment of the Polish star has been unbelievable. What an absolute gem of a player he is and he went to another level on the night. We knew it was coming, but he might just be the best player in the A-League right now.

For the Wanderers, there will have to be some soul searching. They were outplayed and outclassed at every turn. To be fair to Josep Gombau it’s not his side, it’s just one he inherited, and if you look at what it was missing - no Oriol Riera, no Mark Bridge - it was never enough to beat this rampant Sydney team.

Sydney FC players celebrate their big win over Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night.

But the Wanderers were still in it even after Mierzejewski scored to give the Sky Blues the lead in the 14th minute. They reacted well and showed some fight, but then Sydney’s quality came through and it could have been 6-0 at half time.

It was by far Sydney’s best game of the season so far - everything just clicked for the first time and, going forward, they were irresistible and deserve the highest praise. And this was without last year’s player of the year, Milos Ninkovic.

To Gombau’s credit, he did try shake things up after what was an anaemic performance by the Wanderers against Brisbane last week. He made a statement by dropping Jumpei to the bench and bringing Lachlan Scott, Josh Risdon and Keanu Baccus into the starting line up. But the Wanderers were totally outplayed and this is looming as a long season for the club.

But for Sydney and the club’s fans, it was a performance to savour.