After they edged an under-strength Melbourne Victory 1-0, Sydney FC defender Alex Wilkinson said the reigning champions are far from their regal best.

Wilkinson said too many turnovers put the pressure on his side on Saturday night at Etihad, after they won courtesy of an own goal to Thomas Deng on 52 minutes.

“When we turnover possession a little bit cheaply then you’re always on the back foot and that tended to happen in the last 20 minutes,” he told Fox Sports.

“We’ve got a lot of improvement [to come] and the good thing is this squad has a lot of belief and drive and we showed that when we need to dig in, we dig in.”

Sydney FC won a third consecutive game in Victoria, their longest ever A-League streak in the state.

And Sydney FC will remain in Victory to prepare for their FFA Cup semi final with South Melbourne on Wednesday night.

Sky Blues playmaker Milos Ninkovic said the season opener is always difficult on A-League teams after a long off-season.

“But we got three points which is more important. We can play better,” he told Fox Sports.

“It was a similar game to the grand final. They are a very good team [Victory].”

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