Saturday afternoon saw Melbourne City perform an utter demolition job over the Macarthur Bulls, beating them six goals to one.
The result sees City remain undefeated at home this season, whilst also extending our current unbeaten run to seven matches.
Without further ado, here are the three things we learned from Saturday's encounter.
van de Bruyne
The early-season doubters of Richie Van Der Venne (myself included) are well and truly long gone.
Over the last few weeks, the Dutchman has really been finding his feet and seemingly growing into his role within the group. However, yesterday was a little more than just a continuation of his steady growth of late, it was an utter masterclass.
Richie was flawless, everything he touched turned to goals as he became the first City player to complete a hattrick since Jamie Maclaren in the derby a couple of years ago. His performance left onlookers with no choice but to sit back and admire as he went about his work, and it was only fitting that he completed his hattrick with a goal that will live long in the memory of anyone lucky enough to witness it.
If this is the level of performance that the Dutchman is capable of, long may it continue.
City ball at its best
It was mentioned in the match preview that the dam wall felt like it was about to break, and boy did it shatter.
Over the last few weeks, City has continued to put forth an abundance of attacking threat with little reward, so it's about time we bared some fruit for our efforts.
City dominated from start to finish and probably played the best football we have played all season. The passing was like a hot knife through butter and Macarthur had no answers, resulting in some truly exquisite goals.
When the squad clicks like it did yesterday, there really isn’t much else like it.
Rado Vidosic is really starting to implement his identity over the group as well. PK built his squad on a strong impenetrable defence, and it seems Rado wants it on the attack. Making three rather attacking substitutions at the 60th minute whilst already being 3-0 up is a testament to that.
What style is best is debatable, but if the results and performances keep up like they have been since his tenure started (4W,3D,1L with 20 goals scored), he is building a strong case to perhaps take over the managerial position permanently. The football on display yesterday is good as it gets at City, and if it keeps up it’ll be hard to build a case against him.
Time will tell.
Catch us if you can
City’s win accompanied by the Mariners' loss yesterday sees us extend our lead at the top to eight points whilst keeping a game in hand (and that game we’re 1-0 up in).
Holding such a large lead at the halfway point of the season is a testament to just how big the discrepancy is between City and the rest of the league when we are at our best. Whilst there is still an abundance of football to be played, City has rooted itself as the undisputed benchmark of the competition.
At this point in time, the quest for an unprecedented hattrick of premierships is well on track and the message to all is clear: catch us if you can.
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