Cahill, who was in the thick of the action, engaged in a running battle with Victory stalwart Leigh Broxham and was a key figure in the contentious first goal by Luke Brattan.

At one point he had a sideline confrontation with former Millwall team-mate and Victory boss Kevin Muscat, although there was a reconciliation at half-time.

The Socceroo legend praised his teammates for bouncing back from Friday's A-League loss to Perth Glory and taking the fight to their crosstown rivals.

“I said to our boys, what they (Victory) did to Adelaide (in the A-League last Saturday) they went there and were very physical and changed the way they played against us," Cahill told Fox Sports.

“We watched the game and knew that was going to happen tonight. But we can’t just lay there because Muzzy’s (Muscat) the coach and let them kick us. You've got to stand up.

With City's 4-1 drubbing of the three-time champions in Round 2 of the A-League, Cahill sensed there was a powershift in Melbourne as his star-studded team attempts to claim their first piece of silverware . 

"There are two big clubs in this city and two big wins in 10 days and the respect’s there now," he said

“I said to the boys, all these hashtags, #thisisourcity, well it is tonight. And it will be coming soon so a bit of respect coming our way now.”

"Tonight, we don’t take a step back for anyone. And I think they (Victory) felt it. And this is for our fans." 

City will now take on Sydney FC in the FFA Cup final at AAMI Park on Wednesday, November 30.