Melbourne Victory took advantage of 10-man Brisbane Roar to hit the A-League summit with a 4-2 triumph on Friday.
All six goals, including two penalties, and Eric Bautheac's red card came in a frenetic first half at Suncorp Stadium.
Kosta Barbarouses bookended the scoring, with Ola Toivonen and Keisuke Honda also on target for the in-form visitors, who made it six wins on the bounce ahead of a derby with Melbourne City next weekend.
Adam Taggart's penalty and a Toivonen own goal provided scant consolation for a Brisbane side who have just one win to their name this season.
straight and on top of the league December 14, 2018
The impressive James Troisi set up Barbarouses to volley Kevin Muscat's side into a 13th-minute lead, with Bautheac dismissed soon after following a brief departure from his senses.
Having been shown a yellow card for a wild lunge on Corey Brown, he then raised his hand to Toivonen and promptly received a second booking.
Taggart levelled from the penalty spot after he was tripped by Honda, but a cool finish from Toivonen put Victory back in front.
Melbourne extended their lead when Honda converted a spot-kick awarded following a handball by Daniel Bowles, but Toivonen headed into his own net two minutes later as Brisbane reduced the deficit.
Barbarouses ensured Victory went into half-time with a two-goal cushion when he swept into the bottom-left corner after a clever short-corner routine.
The second half failed to match the drama of the first, which will have been of little concern to Muscat, who has seen his side produce a stunning reaction to losing their opening two games of the campaign.
