Tim Cahill has made himself an instant Melbourne City hero, scoring a wonder goal and inspiring his A-League side to a 4-1 Melbourne derby win over rivals Melbourne Victory.
Bruno Fornaroli, Luke Brattan and Fernando Brandan also scored to punish Victory -- who replied through Marco Rojas -- in a display which confirmed City's title credentials.
As is so often the case, the derby did not lack for excitement or moments of magic, but on his first league outing in Australia for 20 years, Cahill made the occasion his own in less than half an hour.
Seizing on a loose ball, the Socceroo struck a half-volley that whistled past Victory goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas from 35 metres, leaving a bumper crowd of 43,188 to go wild.
A superb display from Milos Ninkovic lifted Sydney FC to an emphatic 4-0 win over A-League battlers Central Coast Mariners.
The Serbian playmaker was influential at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday, setting up first-half goals for Filip Holosko and Bobo to kickstart the Sky Blues' third consecutive four-goal league haul.
Holosko then converted a penalty -- his third goal in two games -- and captain Alex Brosque netted one foff the bench thanks to a farcical error by former Sydney FC goalkeeper Ivan Necevski.
With only five shots to Sydney's 17, the scoreline flattered Paul Okon's reinvented Mariners, who were spirited but lacked composure, whereas the hosts had it in droves.