Adelaide Eyes Top-Two Spot as Stunning Brazilian Shines Against the Bulls

Adelaide United are now just a solitary point behind second-placed Auckland FC as they head into the final round of the season, following a brace from Anselmo de Moraes that enabled them to overcome Macarthur Bulls with a scoreline of 3-1.

Macarthur kicked off brightly at Coopers Stadium, with Socceroos striker Mitch Duke continuing his excellent form. He opened the scoring with a well-executed header just seven minutes in.

As he darted across defender Panagiotis Kikianis inside the box, Duke met Callum Talbot’s superb cross, flicking it past the reach of Adelaide keeper Joshua Smits and into the far corner, putting the Bulls ahead 1-0.

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Reds youngster Ryan White nearly equalised moments later but was denied by a brilliant save from Bulls keeper Alexander Robinson, who went on to make two more crucial saves to ensure his side retained their 1-0 lead at half-time.

The home side faced a double injury setback at half-time, with defender Ryan Kitto leaving the pitch due to a foot injury. He was later spotted in the stands with crutches beside him, and Luka Jovanovic was also taken off due to injury concerns.

Substituted into the game in place of Jovanovic, Anselmo quickly made an impact by soaring above the crowd to powerfully head home Jay Barnett’s cross, marking his first goal in the Isuzu UTE A-League.

Anselmo then nearly found the back of the net with an extraordinary bicycle kick, but Robinson was once again on hand to deny him, tipping his header around the post shortly after.

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With Adelaide now dominating possession and creating ample opportunities, they equalised in the 75th minute when Kikianis seized on a loose ball to fire in the Reds’ second goal.

The victory was confirmed in the dying moments of the match as Anselmo collected his second of the game, muscling past Tomislav Uskok in the box to convert Yaya Dukuly’s low cross.

This result sees the Reds climb to third on the ladder, giving them a chance to clinch second place on the final day of the season.

Meanwhile, Macarthur, under Mile Sterjovski, have now suffered their 10th defeat of the season and currently sit in ninth position with one game left to play.