Marcel Tisserand has taken a dig at Western Sydney by suggesting Sydney FC's crosstown rivals would be smarter putting their energy into football and not trash talk.
The DR Congo defender scored once as the Sky Blues came from behind to win 4-1, moving them up to second on the A-League Men ladder and sending the Wanderers back to the bottom.
The derby victory was particularly satisfying for Sydney's players because of the one-way verbal jabs that came from Anthony Pantazopoulos in the build-up to the match.
The Western Sydney centre back described Sydney's effort in the first derby of the season as "weak as piss" — one of several slights he aimed at Ufuk Talay's squad.
Sydney refused to fuel the flames further but were keen to offer the Wanderers' some advice in the aftermath of their thrashing.
"Those guys, they always talk and that's why they lost their energy in the game," Tisserand told AAP.
"Next time, maybe it's better for them to concentrate more on the pitch."
Tisserand was a colossus at the back for the Sky Blues and looks to be back to full fitness after battling a stress fracture in his foot he picked up in December.
Talay has defended his management of the 33-year-old's injury after twice substituting Tisserand at halftime in order to ensure the defender can play a part at the business end of the season.
"It's getting better but the first two weeks it wasn't easy, I didn't really train with the team for three weeks and that's why the coach has managed my minutes," Tisserand said.
Tisserand hopes the win can be the spark that reignites Sydney's pursuit of the premiership after an injury-depleted squad struggled through much of January.
The Sky Blues travel to third-placed Auckland FC on Saturday and will fancy their chances against a side who have won just one of their last six games.
"We lost five starting XI players. Any team in the league who loses five important players, it's going to be tough," Tisserand said.
"It was tough for us, we gave our best even though the results weren't there.
"We still need to improve and we need to do that because this week against Auckland it's going to be a tough game."
