Melbourne City have opened their A-League Men championship defence with a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Western Sydney.
Wanderers recruit Kosta Barbarouses drew first blood in the 11th minute before City striker Max Caputo equalised two minutes later at CommBank Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
But neither side was able to break through for a winner, with City goalkeeper Patrick Beach and Wanderers skipper Lawrence Thomas both putting in assured performances in a cagey contest.
"It was a very typical round one game I guess," Wanderers defender Anthony Pantazopoulos told Paramount+.
"... It was very tight, there wasn' t much in it. So I'd say a draw's a fair result but obviously we want to win.
"They were the benchmark last season and we want to get there.
"So obviously we want to beat the champions but at the end of the day, a 1-1 draw first round, we'll definitely work on it."
Barbarouses, former City midfielder Steven Ugarkovic and ex-Western United midfielder Angus Thurgate were among the Wanderers' fresh faces.
City tested out attacking recruits Elbasan Rashani and Takeshi Kanamori, while Mathew Leckie played alongside Kai Trewin in midfield.
The hosts struck first when, with Socceroos coach Tony Popovic among those watching on, Wanderers star Brandon Borrello pounced on a disorganised City defence, slipping through Barbarouses.
The former Wellington, Brisbane, Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC star toepoked home deftly to make a perfect start to life at his new club.
City responded immediately when Andreas Kuen released Caputo with a wonderful long ball that split the Wanderers' defence.
The striker ran onto the ball and coolly chipped Thomas to level the scores.
In the 43rd minute, Beach made a strong save to deny Borrello.
Late in the half, Ugarkovic had a fierce strike deflected to safety while Alex Gersbach and Bozhidar Kraev also peppered the City goal.
Two minutes after the break, Trewin skimmed a shot over the bar, while Thomas denied Kanamori in the 55th minute.
Neither team really threatened to score as the game petered out.
Melbourne City return home to AAMI Park for an Asian Champions League Elite clash with Thailand's Buriram United on Tuesday, before hosting Perth Glory in the ALM next Saturday.
Western Sydney travel to face Auckland FC, also next Saturday.
