Not even a dramatic semi-final triumph could soften Kevin Muscat's feud with Graham Arnold with the Melbourne Victory coach hitting out against Sydney FC and their coach after his team's thrilling extra-time win.
Victory sealed their passage to the A-League grand final after their 3-2 triumph at Allianz Stadium that snapped their seven-game losing streak to the Sky Blues and appeared to only escalate the tense rivalry between the two clubs.
Fired up: Kevin Muscat used the taunts of Sydney FC as motivation for his side.
Photo: AAP
Muscat praising the courageous performance of his players to recover from injury set-backs and own goals to clinch a 117th-minute winner away from home, before lashing out at Sydney FC's pre-game taunts and mind games. Much like their 2015 grand final win over the Sky Blues, Muscat revealed he again used Sydney FC's claims of being fitter, better and mentally stronger than the Victory to rally his players.
After ending his rivals' season, Muscat hit back at Arnold and Sydney FC several times during his post-match press conference. It was the last time the two will face-off against one another in a Big Blue as Arnold takes over as Socceroos boss but Muscat did not miss his final chance to claim one over his former teammate.
"For one of their staff members to say they knew the arrogance would catch up with them probably says it all."
Kevin Muscat said.
