The Wanderers were torn apart and laid bare by a rampant Sydney FC, who dished out a 5-0 thrashing at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night. Lead by a superb performance from Polish international Adrian Mierzejewski, who scored two classy goals and was pivotal in a third, the Sky Blues continued their march to successive A-League premierships without so much as encountering a speed bump on their road trip to Western Sydney.

They pounced on a selection gamble that failed spectacularly for Wanderers coach Josep Gombau, whose project towards attacking football was largely rudderless up front, disjointed through the spine and in disarray in defence. On the most important night for their fans, Sydney FC finally delivered the ruthless performance their coach Graham Arnold has long demanded this season and were unlucky not to have scored six, seven or even eight goals.

Their hunt began early. A botched clearance in the 14th minute fell to the feet of Mierzejewski, who powered a fierce left-foot drive through a sea of players into the bottom corner of the net to rip the floodgates wide open early in the match.

Sydney FC immediately went on the hunt for a second, and were so hungry that centre-back Jordy Buijs surged forward inside the box to test Wanderers goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic. His defensive partner Alex Wilkinson came close to doubling their tally when he got on the end of a free kick but his volley trickled narrowly wide.

Save for a long-range shot from marquee Alvaro Cejudo after half an hour, there was no respite for the Wanderers.

David Carney should have scored Sydney's second with a header in front of an open goal. Alex Brosque came close with a first-time finish, then again shortly after at the near post. Despite enduring a goal drought this season, Sydney's captain wasn't going to pass on a third opportunity. A perfectly weighted through ball into the box from Bobo found the run of Brosque, who rounded Janjetovic to make it 2-0.

On the stroke of half-time, it was effectively game over. A moment of magic from Mierzejewski then inflicted the body blow, his curling free-kick rattling the back of the net as much as the spirits of the hosts.

Whatever was said from Gombau at half-time changed little. Arnold's instructions were to go for a fourth as soon as possible. Unfortunately for Western Sydney, it was one of their own who provided that for thier rivals. In his first start of the season, Lachlan Scott fell victim to the pressure of the Sky Blues, turning Mierzejwski's cross into his own net after heading past Janjetovic.

It was quickly becoming a horror show for the Wanderers, who sunk to the depths of despair when Sydney's seemingly one-footed left back struck one of the goals of the season with his weak peg. From the corner of the box, Michael Zullo guided a curling right-foot shot inside the far post to send the Sky Blues fans into rapture as the scoreboard flicked over to 5-0 in the 56th minute.

But in yet another controversial intervention from the Video Assistant Referee, the Wanderers were given a reprieve when the goal was disallowed after a handball was spotted deep in the build-up, robbing Zullo of one of the better goals of the season thus far. Even that decision was a hollow victory for the home fans, who had long since fallen quiet, looking at the clock grimly with some starting to walk down the exits.

A match that started as a battle between two teams quickly became Sydney FC v Janjetovic. The Wanderers goalkeeper was all that stood between the Sky Blues and a cricket score, pulling off a string of superb reflex saves to deny Brosque, Bobo and Zullo. But there was only so much he could do. When Sydney midfielder Brandon O'Neill seized on generous defending, a fifth was inevitable when he curled the ball into the corner of the net.

Sydney FC's 'bluewash' put them eight points clear, 17 ahead of the Wanderers, whose season is already starting to fall away.