With a player of Giovinco’s caliber at the peak of his powers on the pitch, TFC’s opponents are quickly learning how rude of an awakening awaits them when they match up with the Reds.

Take NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira for example, who witnessed just how troublesome the Reds can be.

“This is the team to beat, there’s no doubt about it,” Vieira said. “We couldn’t perform because they were too good for us, as simple as that.”

Sebastian Giovinco had yet another brilliant performance in front of Toronto FC’s faithful, scoring a pair of beautiful goals in the comfortable win. The Atomic Ant’s brilliance has been on display since his arrival in 2015, yet head coach Greg Vanney still marvels at the 5-foot-4 striker’s scoring ability.

“He’s (Giovinco) becoming deadly in his finishing,” Vanney said. “You give him a look, you give him a window, and he’s finding good spots and making things dangerous.”

Giovinco’s second tally was the 10th free-kick goal of his MLS career, which gives him more than any MLS player since 2003.

Of the four goals NYCFC keeper Sean Johnson conceded on the afternoon, Giovinco’s magical free kick stuck with him most.

“In my eight years, that’s probably one, of if not the best, free kicks that I’ve conceded ... free kicks like you’ve seen this entire year are more like penalties for him (Giovinco),” Johnson said. “I think he stands out, he’s a quality player.”

While opponents marvel at Giovinco’s brilliance near the net, Vanney pinpointed another aspect in his game.

“He’s (Giovinco) not just a goal scorer, he’s capable of setting guys up, he’s capable of scoring goals and he’s kind of a little bit of that hybrid, even though he’ll be the first to tell you he’s a forward first and foremost, but he’s capable of doing all things,” Vanney added.

Added Vieira: “If you give him (Giovinco) space for him to express himself he will hurt any team. Nobody has any doubt about his quality.”