Sunderland blew Sheffield Wednesday away with a ruthless display of attacking efficiency at the Stadium of Light, running out 4-0 winners.
The hosts raced into a three-goal lead within the opening 24 minutes, scoring with their first three shots on target, starting with a clever set-piece routine that was rounded off by the head of Dennis Cirkin.
Eliezer Mayenda then doubled Sunderland's lead four minutes later as Wednesday were caught recklessly overplaying at the back, before Josh Windass played Luke O'Nien onside and the midfielder pinched an impudent third.
Wednesday were indebted to goalkeeper James Beadle for keeping the scoreline mildly respectable before the break, only for Regis Le Bris' side to unearth a fourth 72 seconds into the second period.
The ever-impressive Jack Clarke escaped wide left and swept an inch-perfect pass into the path of Mayenda, who scored his second and Sunderland's fourth of a superbly productive afternoon.
The result means they start with back-to-back wins, scoring six times without conceding, to go level with Burnley at the top of the Championship.