Melbourne City has kicked off their title defence with a narrow 2-1 win against Brisbane Roar.
Goals to Curtis Good and Connor Metcalfe were enough for maximum points, despite Brisbane getting dangerously close to obtaining an unexpected result.
Here's what we learned from this one:
Our most talented right-back is not guaranteed a spot in the starting line-up
Nathaniel Atkinson may have future Socceroo written all over him, but he's going to have to work hard to force Scott Galloway out of the starting line-up consistently.
Without the goals, Galloway backed up his eye-catching performance in the cup against South Melbourne again yesterday with dangerous overlapping runs and solidity in his defending.
It could very well take injury or suspension to see his starting position at right-back disappear.
Thought Colakovski was categorically right-winger #2? Think again.
Many might've expected a green number seventeen to appear next to a red number seven when Mathew Leckie was substituted, but no. For now, at least, Patrick Kisnorbo seems to prefer Nathaniel Atkinson in a more advanced role than he's used to playing.
All we have so far is a small sample size to judge all Atkinson's performances on, but it's a good sample to have; three assists, albeit from only two competitive games this season, suggests he's certainly capable of being a threat as a winger.
New season, same flank switching
Most City fans would have known that Andrew Nabbout and Mathew Leckie can be equally damaging to their opponents regardless of which flank they're on. What we didn't officially know yet was will Patrick Kisnorbo utilise these particular traits of theirs? The answer? Yes.
Neither of them recorded goals or assists tonight, but by no means did that result in them not having a positive impact on the game. They still looked very ominous in attack, Nabbout especially.
It's hard to see Kisnorbo not continuing with this plan in the short-term future.
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