The Lion City Sailors made a resounding return to Singapore Premier League (SPL) action with a commanding 8-0 demolition of the Young Lions at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Sunday (6 April).

Lennart Thy stole the show with a sensational five-goal haul, while Bart Ramselaar and Song Uiyoung also found the net in a dominant display that saw the Sailors take control from the first whistle against a Young Lions side that went down to 10 men midway through the first half.

The result equals the Sailors’ second biggest-ever winning margin in the SPL — matching their 8-0 triumph over Geylang International back in April 2021.

“I wouldn’t call it domination, especially since they were a man down for a large part of the game,” said Sailors Head Coach Aleksandar Ranković.

“We were already 3-0 up and in control at that point, and of course, the red card helped us. But credit to them (Young Lions) — they still tried to play football despite being a man short. Overall, I’m happy with the three points.”

Ranko named a full-strength Sailors side to face a confident Young Lions outfit coming into the clash on the back of a 7-1 Singapore Cup victory over Albirex Niigata (S).

But the Sailors quickly asserted themselves – just eight minutes in, Lennart got on the end of a Diogo Costa free-kick and sent a header narrowly wide to signal the Sailors’ attacking intent.

However, it did not take long for the breakthrough to arrive. In the 12th minute, Shawal Anuar’s intelligent movement in the box forced an own goal off Young Lions defender Ikram Mikhail to give the Sailors a deserved 1-0 lead.

That advantage was doubled three minutes later, when Bart opened up his body and curled a delightful effort into the far corner from the edge of the box.

The Dutchman was at the heart of the action again in the 25th minute, as he slipped in Diogo Costa down the right flank. The Portuguese’s low cross was met by Lennart, who clinically swept home the Sailors’ third goal of the night.

Things went from bad to worse for the Young Lions shortly after, as goalkeeper Umayr Sujuwandy was shown a straight red card for handling the ball outside the box.

Aizil Yazid came on for his brother Aqil to take over between the sticks, but there was little he could do as the in-form duo of Diogo and Lennart combined once more to make it 4-0 before the break.

“We just want to keep playing the way we have been recently, and I always try to set the tone from the start,” said Lennart. “I think we played really well today — and of course, the red card made it easier.”

The second half followed a similar pattern of Sailors dominance, with Song producing a moment of magic in the 58th minute — curling a stunning strike into the top corner for the team’s fifth goal of the night.

Just two minutes later, a lapse in concentration from the Young Lions defence saw the ball fall kindly to Lennart, who needed no second invitation to slam home and complete his hat-trick.

It was the German forward’s fourth treble of the season — all of which have come since the turn of the year — and underlined his growing influence on the Sailors’ attack.

“Most of the time I score from inside the box, so for me it’s important to have a good left foot, right foot, and header, because sometimes you just can’t predict where the ball will come from,” said Lennart, who was named Man of the Match.

“It needs to be quick — on the rebound, or sometimes even difficult balls. So for me, it’s important to be able to score with every part of my body.”

Young Lions goalkeeper Aizil was kept busy throughout the night, and had to be at his best to pull off saves to deny Christopher van Huizen and his eventual replacement, Akram Azman.

But the night belonged to one man. And Lennart was not quite done just yet.

In the 90th minute, Diogo embarked on a lung-bursting run before squaring the ball into Lennart’s path for the Sailors’ seventh of the evening — and Diogo’s third assist of the match.

Incredibly, there was still time for another goal.

In the second minute of stoppage time, Diogo was once again involved, as he exchanged passes with Abdul Rasaq Akeem, who picked out Lennart in the box. The German made no mistake, scoring his fifth goal of the night to seal a record-equalling 8-0 victory.

“Diogo got a hat-trick of assists today — without his assists, I cannot score. So, I have to say thanks to him,” said the 33-year-old, who has now struck 27 times in just 21 SPL appearances.

Remarkably, the Sailors racked up 32 goal attempts by the end of the game, and did not allow Young Lions any shots all night as they restored their seven-point lead at the top of the SPL table over BG Tampines Rovers.

Attention now turns to what promises to be one of the biggest matches in club history — the first leg of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) Two semi-final against Australia’s Sydney FC at Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday (9 April).

“This win definitely gives us confidence,” said Ranko. “We’ve got a very big game coming up and I’m happy that nobody got injured and that I was able to refresh some players.”

“We’re in the middle of a very tough season, having played 45 games already — no other team in the league plays as many games as we do — but that gives us strength and determination to keep moving forward.”

Sydney FC will arrive in Singapore fresh off a morale-boosting 3-2 away win over Adelaide United in the A-League — with 19-year-old Adrian Segecic netting a dramatic 94th-minute winner.

The Sky Blues boast plenty of quality in their squad, with the standout name being former Bayern Munich and Juventus winger Douglas Costa. Nonetheless, Ranko’s Sailors have consistently shown this season that they’re capable of rising to the occasion when it matters most.

“I don’t know how many times we’re going to try and rewrite history this season, but we’ll definitely give it our best,” said Ranko. “They’re a great opponent, but playing on this stage — honestly, it’s a dream for us. So yes, we’re very happy to be part of it.”