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Can anyone beat Sydney FC this season? It’s a question plenty will be asking after the Sky Blues hammered Perth Glory at Allianz Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
It wasn’t so much the style of Sydney FC’s 4-1 dismantling of Perth Glory that was so impressive.
After all, if Glory striker Andy Keogh had put away any of three early chances, the complexion of the match would have changed entirely.
Then there was the fact that Dino Djulbic gifted Sydney FC their opener.
It was a gamble to play the hulking centre back on the right-hand side of defence in the absence of Socceroos defender Josh Risdon, and Glory coach Kenny Lowe would be the first to admit that it failed.
It wasn’t even the fact that the Sky Blues kicked on to score a couple of late goals, despite missing several earlier chances, that will have most impressed.
No, what will worry their A-League rivals is the fact that the Sydney FC machine simply looks relentless.
And in Milos Ninkovic, the Sky Blues currently possess the best player in the league.
Bruno Fornaroli might score more goals, but Ninkovic is finally demonstrating the sort of form that once made him a star at Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kiev.
We shouldn’t be surprised that Ninkovic is such an outstanding talent, but so often players who once starred in Europe find the hard pitches and physical nature of the A-League a bridge too far.
However, after a disappointing first season in which he showed only glimpses of his best, Ninkovic is surely the early front runner in the Johnny Warren Medal stakes.
The fleet-footed Serb was at his impish best at Allianz Stadium, scoring twice and setting up Bobo for a tap-in – a confidence booster for the Brazilian striker if ever there was one.
And when Alex Brosque scored Sydney’s fourth in his 150th game for the club, the Sky Blues capped off a practically perfect day at the office.
They’ve now won six league games straight, setting up a clash of monumental proportions against Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium next Saturday night.
And if there’s any team that knows about going on an unbeaten run, it’s the Roar.
They were somewhat unlucky to come away from Coopers Stadium in Adelaide with a 1-1 draw on Friday night, and the ongoing loss of Jamie Maclaren to international duty is a major blow.
And with long-time rivals Melbourne Victory making a statement of intent with a 3-0 home win over a disjointed Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday, the Roar can ill-afford to continue throwing points away on the road.
If there’s one thing that has been readily apparent over the opening six rounds of the season, it’s that the standard of football in the A-League continues to improve.
Yes, there are still some games that disappoint – the less said about Central Coast’s pointless trip to Canberra the better – but on the whole, the quality of football on show is the best it’s ever been.
And with the national team in action in a World Cup qualifier against Thailand on Tuesday night, football fans are currently spoiled for choice.
You’d think, then, that we’d see a bit more football coverage in some of our mainstream newspapers.
Instead of giving the back page to Channel Nine’s rugby league reporter Danny Weidler when the NRL is not even in season, perhaps the Sun-Herald should give Dom Bossi a weekend column instead?
After all, one of the city’s own are lighting up the A-League with some of the most effective football – if not always the most attractive – we’ve seen in a long time.
There may still be a long way to go, but even at this early stage of the season, the question isn’t whether Sydney FC can win the league.
The question is – who can stop them?