Despite a recent two-month break from competitive action, Aaron Mooy has starred on his return with Chinese club Shanghai Port.
The 31-year-old stole the show in Wednesday night's 2-1 win over Guangzhou City in the Chinese Super League as the Australian midfielder scored both goals for his side.
Mooy has been in impressive form since the league season resumed on December 13, starting all six games since and scoring three goals as Shanghai Port look to secure an AFC Champions League spot.
#GZCvSHA MT 0-2 grâce à un doublé d'Aaron Mooy dont un Golazo qui a laissé sur place Han Jiaqi juste avant la mi-temps pic.twitter.com/DVFt0KymVU
— Le Foot Chinois en VF 🇨🇳🇫🇷 (@csl_fr) December 29, 2021
Having missed a large chunk of club games across July and August, Mooy has struggled to make an impact for the Socceroos this year and sat out of recent matches against Saudi Arabia and China.
Australia had to settle for draws in both clashes meaning they now sit third in their World Cup qualifying group and outside of an automatic qualification spot.
Ahead of crunch qualifiers against Vietnam and Oman late next month, the Socceroos look set to welcome back a red-hot Mooy, who could well breathe life into a side that has been in need of a spark.
The Aussie has been deployed in a more attacking role with Shanghai Port over the past month, lining up as an attacking right midfielder.
Mooy made the most of his position against Guangzhou City and was his side's undisputed player of the match on Wednesday.
🇦🇺 Aaron Mooy putting on a big performance in the Chinese Super League.
— FotMob (@FotMob) December 29, 2021
📊 vs. Guangzhou City:
⏱ 90 mins played
⭐️ 9.36 rating
⚽️ 2 goals
🪄 3 chances created
⚔️ 7 duels won
↩️ 12 recoveries
👉 101 touches
👟 70 accurate passes (90%) pic.twitter.com/vQSms3zZJt
Socceroos coach Graham Arnold will no doubt be hoping he can carry this form into the international arena next month as Australia look to get their qualifying campaign back on track.
Australia will next host Vietnam at AAMI Park on January 27 with initial ticket allocation for the match exhausted this week.