Daniel Sturridge has been released by A-League outfit Perth Glory after spending one goalless season with the side.

Sturridge, who scored 50 Premier League goals for Liverpool between 2013 and 2019, averaging a strike every 135.9 minutes under the management of Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp, joined the Australian team in October 2021.

But despite Glory chairman Tony Sage describing the acquisition of Sturridge as one of the biggest signings in A-League history when his arrival was confirmed, the striker struggled for form and fitness, failing to score a single goal in eight months with the team.

The club released a statement on their website on Friday to confirm the departure of Sturridge, who has earned 26 senior caps for England, scoring eight goals. 

The 32-year-old only made one league start as the team finished bottom of the A-League in the 2021-22 season, with Sturridge's six appearances amounting to just 139 minutes of action.

Sturridge has endured a frustrating few seasons, being relegated from the Premier League during a loan spell at West Brom in 2018, before being released by Turkish club Trabzonspor in 2020 after receiving a four-month playing ban for breaching the Football Association's betting regulations.

Nathaniel Atkinson's late strike gave Melbourne City a 1-0 victory over Perth Glory at AAMI Park on Wednesday.

Defending champions City, smarting from a first defeat of the A-League season at the hands of Western United, dominated the game but Glory goalkeeper Cameron Cook denied them time and again.

Atkinson finally broke the deadlock in the 88th minute, nodding home from close range after Connor Metcalfe timed his run to perfection and headed into the substitute's path.

Melbourne had 23 attempts and thought they had opened the scoring in the first half, but Andrew Nabbout's deflected strike was ruled out for offside.

While Melbourne will point to their domination of the game, Atkinson's winner was a cruel blow for Cook, who made six saves.

Victory for Patrick Kisnorbo's side moved them up to second place, with Perth sitting into sixth spot after four matches.

Antonee Burke-Gilroy scored his first A-League goal and created another as Perth Glory beat 10-man Melbourne Victory 3-0 to leave Macarthur top of the table.

Victory went into Sunday's clash at AAMI Park on a high from winning their opening two games of the season, but they were brought back down to earth by Perth.

Rai Marchan was shown a straight red card for catching Bruno Fornaroli with a high boot following a VAR check and Glory capitalised to claim their first win of the campaign.

New signing Burke-Gilroy opened the scoring with a sweet left-foot strike from outside the penalty area after 66 minutes, before whipping in a cross for Ciaran Bramwell to nod beyond Ivan Kelava.

Captain Fornaroli rifled in a third with his right foot from 20 yards out in the closing stages as Perth ended a run of six matches without an A-League win.

Macarthur rose to the summit courtesy of an own goal from Central Coast Mariners captain Oliver Bozanic on the stroke of half-time.

Ulises Davila's strike deflected off Bozanic and in for the only goal of the game to give Macarthur a first regular-season win over the Mariners at Panthers Stadium, where Central Coast goalkeeper Yaren Sozer was forced off with a suspected torn hamstring.

A-League champions Melbourne City threw a two-goal lead away to draw 2-2 away at Adelaide United in their second game of the season.

City kicked their title defence off with a 2-1 win over Brisbane Roar in their opening match and looked set to make it two wins from two after goals from Jamie Maclaren and Andrew Nabbout gave them a 2-0 advantage after 61 minutes.

However, Adelaide struck twice in the closing stages, with Stefan Mauk halving the deficit before Ben Halloran grabbed a dramatic 90th-minute equaliser to stun City.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Sydney, who finished just two points behind City in second last season, slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Macarthur at home after an early Lachlan Rose strike.

Macarthur are now level on points with table-topping City and Wellington Phoenix, who beat Central Coast Mariners 2-1, but are behind the pair on goals scored and sit third.

Gary Hooper scored for the second game running for the Phoenix in their home clash with the Mariners, who pulled one back through Marco Urena before Jaushua Sotirio fired in the winner.

The Nix are now unbeaten in 13 matches stretching back into last season and face Western Sydney Wanderers in their next game.

Western United got their first win of the new A-League season as they edged out Perth Glory 1-0 in Friday's game at AAMI Park.

Dylan Wenzel-Halls came off the bench to score 12 minutes from time to give John Aloisi's side all three points.

Having opened the campaign with a 1-0 loss to Melbourne Victory, United came into this match on a nine-game losing streak, the third-worst such run in A-League history.

Perth, who left striker Daniel Sturridge out of the matchday squad, had gone nine consecutive away matches without a win and lost in a 5-4 thriller in this same fixture last season.

Chances were scarce in the first half, although Brad Jones had to scramble to keep out an audacious effort from Alessandro Diamanti from inside his own half.

Jamie Young made a good save to deny Bruno Fornaroli and Pacifique Niyongabire also missed a good chance, and the visitors were punished for their profligacy.

Connor Pain's run to the byline and cross saw the ball come back off the inside of the far post, giving former Brisbane Roar forward Wenzel-Halls the simplest of finishes for his first United goal.

Daniel Sturridge made a brief cameo off the bench and Bruno Fornaroli scored a stunning equaliser as Perth Glory began their A-League campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to Adelaide United on Saturday.

The signing of former Liverpool and England striker Sturridge has piqued the interest in Australian football, with the 32-year-old back in the professional game after departing Trabzonspor in March 2020.

However, fans were only treated to a short glimpse of Sturridge at HFB Park, where the hosts were forced to come from behind to clinch a point.

Kusini Yengi coolly side-footed home the opener for Adelaide, only for Fornaroli to level five minutes before half-time with a ferocious 30-yard effort.

Antonee Burke-Gilroy later thought he had a first A-League goal but he and Perth were denied for offside by a VAR check.

Last season's beaten finalists Sydney FC played out a goalless draw in the derby against Western Sydney Wanderers, for whom former Everton, Manchester City and Sunderland midfielder Jack Rodwell made his debut off the bench.

Indeed, Rodwell almost made a swift impact with a 30-yard rocket that Andrew Redmayne saved, as a boisterous crowd at CommBank Stadium witnessed a stalemate.

Tony Popovich made a winning start to his Melbourne Victory tenure, with stand-in captain Roderick Miranda heading in the only goal of the game in a 1-0 triumph over Western United.

Daniel Sturridge is back in football after a year and a half away, signing with the A-League's Perth Glory for the 2021-22 season. 

The 32-year-old former Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City striker has not played since being released by Trabzonspor in March 2020 after being handed a four-month ban for breaching the Football Association's betting regulations. 

Sturridge scored seven goals in 16 appearances during his brief stint with the Turkish club after finding the net 97 times in 294 Premier League games. 

"It’s a fantastic opportunity to try a new challenge," Sturridge told the Perth Glory website.

"When the opportunity came about, it felt like the right thing to do, to take my talent somewhere where I can enjoy my football in a competitive league and try and help the team be as successful as they possibly can be.

"I’m going to put my best foot forward, work hard and try and help the team win each game that comes by, and then we’ll see where we end up when the season finishes."

The former England international is a marquee signing for Perth and the entire league, said Glory chairman and owner Tony Sage. 

"His arrival signals in no uncertain terms how determined we are to bring sustained success to the club and the lengths we will go to in order to achieve that goal," Sage said. 

"We know the elite-level quality Daniel will bring to the side and are hugely excited to see him wearing the famous purple this season."

Perth open the A-League season November 20 against Adelaide United. 

Brisbane Roar confirmed their place in the A-League Finals thanks to a 2-1 win over Perth Glory, whose own top-six hopes were ended on Wednesday.

Glory required a win to remain in contention for a spot in the Finals, but found themselves trailing early in the second half.

Jonathan AspropotamItis could not get out of the way of a cross and diverted it into his own net as Brisbane edged closer to the Finals.

Riku Danzaki ultimately got the goal that sealed their qualification in brilliant fashion.

He raced on to Alex Parsons' pass in behind the defence on the break and, although Daryl Lachman caught up, Danzaki produced a clever turn to leave him in his tracks before slotting into the bottom-left corner with 17 minutes to go.

Perth pulled one back through Brandon Wilson, who volleyed in from close range in the 85th minute, but it was too little, too late.

Liam Reddy's 90th-minute penalty save earned Perth Glory a 2-2 draw with Wellington Phoenix at Eden Park in a result that leaves both sides' A-League Finals hopes hanging in the balance.

Phoenix opened the scoring in Sunday's match through Tomer Hemed's fifth goal in four games.

That well-taken strike was cancelled out by substitute Bruno Fornaroli's composed finish past Oliver Sail, before Callum Timmins completed the turnaround with a sensational long-ranger.

Perth were unable to hold on for a first away win in seven attempts, though, as another Wellington substitute in Jaushua Sotirio curled in an equaliser six minutes later.

There was still time for more late drama as Cameron Devlin went down under a challenge from Nick D'Agostino, only for Ulises Davila's resulting penalty to be kept out by Reddy.

Wellington are now unbeaten in a club-record 10 A-League games, but they are one point outside the top six having played a game more than Macarthur, while Perth are two points further back.

Brisbane Roar still have work to do if they are to seal a Finals berth, meanwhile, after losing 2-0 at Western Sydney Wanderers in the second of Sunday's matches.

Wanderers had lost three games in a row heading into the contest at Bankwest Stadium, but goals from Bernie Ibini and Bruce Kamau kept their slim top-six hopes just about alive.

Daniel Margush starred for the home side with six saves, including a couple of fine stops to keep out Riku Danzaki either side of Ibidi's 20-yard shot into the bottom-left corner.

The visitors pushed hard for an equaliser and had a penalty shout rejected when Jesse Daley went down inside the box under contact from Ziggy Gordon.

With players committed forward, Roar had a chance to pick off their opponents late on and Kamau made the most of his opportunity by chipping the ball over Jamie Young at his near post to seal the win.

Bobo got the only goal as Sydney FC ended a derby drought in their rivalry with Western Sydney Wanderers, whose hopes of reaching the A-League Finals suffered a major blow.

The 1-0 win for Sydney FC at the SCG extended their 100 per cent record – now three wins from three – in games played at the world-famous cricket ground.

Brazilian Bobo and Western Sydney's Bruce Kamau had goals disallowed before the game's decisive moment arrived in the 62nd minute, Milos Ninkovic's dinked cross from the left deftly headed into the bottom right corner by Sydney's prolific striker.

It gave Bobo a 10th goal in 19 A-League appearances this season and his fifth goal in games between the Sky Blues and Western Sydney. Only Alex Brosque (six) has scored more goals in the history of the rivalry.

The neat finish also allowed Sydney to end their six-game winless run against Western Sydney (L3 D3), with their most recent previous victory having come in December 2018.

Sydney sit second in the table, with Melbourne City having already secured the Premiers Plate, but the race is on for post-season places and Western Sydney are in danger of missing out. Needing a top-six finish, they sit ninth with three games remaining, three points adrift of sixth-placed Brisbane Roar, who have a game in hand.

Adelaide United nudged up to third position with a 1-0 win over lowly Melbourne Victory, with Craig Goodwin scoring in the 39th minute, securing a seventh win for the Reds in the last eight league meetings between the sides.

Perth Glory's Finals hopes were hit by a 1-1 draw against fifth-placed Macarthur. 

Diego Castro put hosts Perth ahead in the 13th minute from the penalty spot after Andy Keogh was impeded, but Matt Derbyshire levelled on the half-hour mark, plundering his 14th goal of the campaign from close range.

Adelaide United boosted their hopes of progressing straight through to the A-League semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Brisbane Roar.

Craig Goodwin's 23rd-minute strike was the difference between the two sides, with victory leaving Adelaide a point behind Central Coast Mariners in the race for second place.

The Roar had a golden chance to level from the penalty spot six minutes before half-time, but Joseph Champness' effort was kept out by a low save from James Delianov after Ryan Kitto handled in the area.

Sydney FC and Macarthur are level with Adelaide on 35 points as the season nears an exciting climax.

Brisbane remain in sixth, the final quarter-final place, despite their defeat as seventh-placed Western Sydney Wanderers were thumped 5-1 by Perth Glory.

The Glory prevailed thanks to a masterclass from Andy Keogh, who scored four goals for Perth to move them three points behind Brisbane. Joel Chianese rounded out the win deep into injury time.

The day's other game saw Wellington Phoenix go within three points of the Roar as they held league leaders Melbourne City to a 2-2 draw.

Jamie Maclaren's free-kick nine minutes from time put City 2-1 ahead to seemingly secure maximum points, only for Tomer Hemed's second in the 88th minute to ensure a share of the spoils.

Bruno Fornaroli scored a free-kick as Perth Glory earned a key 3-0 home win over Western United as they continued to emerge from their A-League slump.

After going six straight matches without a win, Perth have now won two in a row to keep their Finals hopes alive.

Fornaroli put them ahead on Wednesday with an early free-kick into the top corner before Chris Ikonomidis scored his third goal in as many league matches.

Substitute Joel Chianese wrapped up the points with a fine finish 13 minutes from time, to leave Western floundering given they lost 5-0 to Western Sydney Wanderers last time out.

Perth's win, though, may have been fortunate as they scored three times while only registering an xG of 0.5 compared to 0.8 for the visitors.

Second-placed Central Coast Mariners racked up 20 attempts on goal but were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw at Brisbane Roar, who are sixth, six points ahead of Perth in 10th.

Joey Champness hit the crossbar for Brisbane, while Central Coast thought they had won it when Oliver Bozanic chipped goalkeeper Jamie Young in stoppage time, only to be denied by the woodwork.

Alen Stajcic's side are one point clear of Sydney FC, Adelaide United and Macarthur in a tight table, though leaders Melbourne City are eight points clear of them at the summit.

Melbourne City moved nine points clear at the top of the A-League after a battling 3-2 win over Brisbane Roar on Sunday.

Des Buckingham's side were 2-0 up after only 17 minutes, Connor Metcalfe blasting past goalkeeper Jamie Young before Scott Jamieson doubled the lead via Brisbane's Kai Trewin.

The visitors, who felt a handball should have been given against Craig Noone in the build-up, responded impressively to draw level before half-time through a fine Joey Champness strike and a Macaulay Gillesphey header.

City, who fired in 33 shots across the 90 minutes, failed to capitalise on their chances until some brilliance from Scott Galloway, the full-back's superb run sending him into the box where he hooked a clever finish into the left-hand corner after his cross had been blocked.

City are nine points clear of the chasing pack, with Sydney FC, Adelaide United, Central Coast Mariners and Macarthur all on 32 points.

In the later match, Perth Glory beat Melbourne Victory 2-1 at HBF Park to move seven points clear of the bottom two and keep their top-six hopes alive.

Robbie Kruse missed a first-half penalty for the visitors, who were given an uphill task when Nicholas Ansell was sent off 48 minutes in for a crude challenge on Callum Timmins.

Diego Castro combined well with Ciaran Bramwell to set up Bruno Fornaroli to open the scoring, with Chris Ikonomidis volleying home the second. Rudy Gestede grabbed a consolation for Victory after Kruse hit the crossbar.

Perth are nine points adrift of Western Sydney Wanderers in sixth but have two games in hand.

Western Sydney Wanderers claimed an enthralling 3-2 derby win over Sydney FC to keep Melbourne City's four-point lead at the top of the A-League intact.

Steve Corica's men had designs on eating into that advantage but were caught cold by their neighbours at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday.

Bruce Kamau clattered home Ziggy Gordon's low right-wing cross via the upright in the 12th minutes and it was soon 2-0 when Mitchell Duke found the bottom corner on the end of Bernie Ibini's deft flick to crown a wonderful team move.

Sydney FC avoided any further damage before the break and Alex Wilkinson headed home Alexander Baumjohann's corner two minutes into the second period to breathe fresh life into the contest.

Wanderers substitute Scott McDonald was the beneficiary of further slack set-piece marking 16 minutes from time and the hosts appeared to be safe as the game ticked towards 90 minutes.

Sydney FC produced a remarkable late rally, though – Bobo blazing an 82nd-minute penalty over after the VAR penalised Western Sydney skipper Graham Dorrans for a challenge on Trent Buhagiar.

The experienced striker made amends by pouncing for his 50th A-League goal in stoppage time and there was still time for Anthony Caceres to smash a shot from outside the box against the underside of the crossbar.

Saturday's other matches lacked for similar drama as Macarthur's trip to Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar's home game against Wellington Phoenix each finished goalless.

Adelaide United missed the chance to go top of the A-League but at least avoided suffering defeat as they fought from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Sydney on Sunday.

It looked as though Adelaide were on their way to a second loss in four games, as Bobo rounded off a lovely move to open the scoring in the 19th minute, before doubling his tally early in the second half with a simple finish into an empty net after Kosta Barbarouses wasted a one-on-one situation.

But United pulled one back 15 minutes from time, Jordan Elsey turning in a left-wing cross, and Tomi Juric's fierce strike a few moments later restored parity.

Adelaide might have gone on to seal the win and subsequently leap above Melbourne City, who went top on Saturday with a remarkable 7-0 derby win over Melbourne Victory, but Rhyan Grant brought Craig Goodwin down as the last man to earn a straight red deep into stoppage time.

Just outside Sydney, Macarthur were held to a 2-2 draw by the Newcastle Jets, whose club-record winless streak was extended to eight games.

But just as they did last week against Perth Glory, the Jets showed character to fight back from behind, with Charles M'Mombwa and Loic Puyo putting Macarthur 2-1 up after Roy O'Donovan's penalty had initially put the visitors in front.

Steven Ugarkovic equalised just before the hour mark with a gorgeous 20-yard effort and that ultimately salvaged a point.

The day's late game was similarly entertaining and did yield a winner as Wellington Phoenix beat Glory 3-1, with all goals coming in the second half.

Ben Waine caught Glory goalkeeper Luke Reddy out of his net for the first, only for Joel Chianese to equalise two minutes later with a stunning effort, picking out the top-left corner after slaloming between a couple of defenders.

But Louis Fenton tapped in to make it 2-1 with 66 on the clock and Jaushua Sotirio - released by the lively Ulises Davila - showed great composure to seal the win and boost the Phoenix's outside chances of reaching the Finals.