Marco Tilio

On 5 April, he scored his first goal, 3 minutes after emerging from the bench, to net the winning goal in the 83rd minute and secure a 3–2 away win over Wellington Phoenix.

Marco Tilio (born 23 August 2001) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Australian club Melbourne City, on loan from the Scottish club Celtic, and the Australia national team.

Tilio was born on 23 August 2001 in Hurstville, a suburb in Southern Sydney, to Michael and Melina Tilio.

Shortly after birth, he was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, which required a month-long hospital stay before his discharge.

At the age of six weeks, he returned to the hospital due to the after-effects of hydrocephalus, where he received ongoing monitoring by neurosurgeons until the age of one.

At the age of six, Tilio began playing club football by joining Enfield Rovers in the junior leagues.

During his childhood, Tilio soon moved with Leichhardt Saints, and later joined the youth system at APIA Leichhardt, initially with the juniors, before transitioning to the NPL youth side in 2011.

He further progressed to Sydney Olympic before finally earning an opportunity to play for his hometown club, Sydney FC.

On 17 April, after being brought off the bench in the 63rd minute in his first Melbourne Derby, Tilio recorded two assists and won a penalty that helped Jamie Maclaren complete his sixth hat-trick in his league career.

By full time, City won 7–0 against Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park, breaking the record for the biggest win in derby history and tying with Adelaide United for the biggest win in A-League history.

The win also led their rival's coach Grant Brebner to resign soon after.

With Nabbout's frequent injuries, initially a groin followed by a leg injury, led Tilio to make more frequent appearances in the starting line-up.

On 22 May, Tilio assisted the winning goal to Luna in a 1–0 win against Central Coast Mariners, leading to City's first silverware in the club's history after winning the A-League Premiership Plate.

Tilio registered 4 assists and 1 goal at the end of the regular league fixtures, in which he started in 8 of 20 league appearances.

In the A-League semi-final on 20 June, Tilio assisted the opening goal, a cross towards Stefan Colakovski, and scored a brace within a minute later to secure a 2–0 victory over Macarthur.

During the Grand Final, Tilio garnered media attention, in what was described as a "wow moment to be worshipped," when he trapped the ball whilst sliding, twisting his knee behind his back to stop the ball before it went out in the touchline before getting up and continuing the City attack.

His performances helped City secure a 3–1 win over his former side Sydney FC, and was given their first A-League Championship in their history.

At the end of the season, Tilio was award the club's Rising Star accolade, and was nominated among four other A-League players, including teammate and eventual winner Connor Metcalfe for the Harry Kewell Medal.

On 20 October 2021, Tilio signed a two-year extension with Melbourne City, tying him with the club until the 2023–24 season.

The early stages of the season saw Tilio registering only ten passes and one key chance in the opening league match and an early missed penalty in an FFA Cup match against Hume City.

Despite being replaced by Florin Berenguer in recent matches, Tilio kept his place in the starting line-up before the Christmas break following a 2–2 Melbourne Derby draw on 18 December where he got an assist.

On 5 January 2022, in the FFA Cup quarter-final, Melbourne City were knocked out from the competition after losing on penalties following a 0–0 draw against Wellington Phoenix at the end of extra time.

Tilio missed the deciding penalty for City when Alex Paulsen saved his shot before Nicholas Pennington scored the winning penalty for the Phoenix to win it 4–3 in the shootout.

In the subsequent match four days later, Tilio scored his first goal for the season in a 3–3 draw to Western Sydney Wanderers.

Since joining the club in October 2015, Tilio signed his first professional contract, a one-year scholarship deal, with Sydney FC on 11 September 2018.

Tilio made his NPL senior debut on 10 March 2019, and scored the opening goal, for Sydney FC NPL side in a 2–1 win over Hakoah.

Four months later, on 7 July, he scored his 4th and 5th goal of the season, with two goals in the span of two minutes, to win the game 3–1 against Rockdale Ilinden.

His contributions proved pivotal as Tilio helped Sydney FC clinched survival for another season following a crucial win over Sydney United.

In November, he was announced in the Sydney FC Youth squad for the 2019–20 Foxtel Youth League.

During the competition, Tilio scored a hat-trick, his second of the week following his first during international duty, in an 8–3 win against Newcastle Jets.

After progressing to the final, Tilio would score two goals, including a brace, to win the Y-League after a 5–1 victory over Melbourne Victory.

He was awarded the FYL Golden Boot for his tally of 11 goals.

On 21 May 2019, Tilio made his professional debut in the AFC Champions League in a 4–0 loss against Kawasaki Frontale at Jubilee Stadium.

In September, he was promoted to the senior squad alongside Ryan Teague and Harry Van Der Saag, ahead of the 2019–20 A-League season.

His time with the seniors was described by Adam le Fondre as "a rollercoaster," but proclaims its normal with youngsters.

On 23 February 2020, Tilio scored on his A-League debut, to secure a 3–1 win over Central Coast Mariners and send his side 13 points clear at the top of the table.

On 7 September, after making 6 appearances and scoring 1 goal, Tilio departed Sydney FC to find better playing time, rejecting the contract offer made by Steve Corica.

On 21 September 2020, Melbourne City announced that Tilio had signed a three-year contract with the club, having been assured for more first-team opportunities.

He received the number 23 for the 2020–21 A-League season that commenced at the start of 2021 instead of late-2020 due to COVID.

Following Adrián Luna suspension and Andrew Nabbout absence from injury, Tilio made his Melbourne City debut on 3 January 2021, in a starting appearance against Adelaide United.