Melbourne City began their A-League Men campaign with a 3-1 loss to defending champions Auckland FC at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday, with New Zealand international Lachlan Bayliss scoring twice on his debut for the home side.
A crowd of 20,635 turned out in Auckland to mark the club's first-ever title win, and saw new signing Bayliss open the scoring in the 35th minute with a first-time strike from 35 yards after pouncing on an errant pass from Besian Kutleshi.
Melbourne City hit back seven minutes later when Quinn Macnicol finished off a square ball from Kavian Rahmani to level the scores at 1-1 going into half-time.
Bayliss restored Auckland's lead in the 53rd minute, latching onto a loose header after City failed to fully clear a cross from Hiroki Sakai. Lachlan Brook put the result beyond doubt in the 85th minute, cutting inside from the right and curling a shot from the edge of the box.
The match turned heated late on when a challenge from Jake Brimmer on Macnicol sparked a shoving contest involving players from both sides. Sam Cosgrove and Aziz Behich were both booked.
Saturday's match was the first in charge for Auckland coach Pedro Moreira, who took over after Steve Corica departed to join Japanese club Yokohama F Marinos. Moreira named Bayliss in his starting line-up for his first game at the helm.
The result extended Auckland's unbeaten start to each of their three seasons in the competition, with the club yet to lose an opening-round match since entering the A-League.
Auckland FC will next travel to face Western Sydney, while Melbourne City turn their attention to a Melbourne derby against Melbourne Victory.