It's fair to say that as Saturdays go, Cole Palmer's was a pretty good one.
The young Manchester City talent found himself named on the bench for the Blues' Premier League fixture against Burnley on Saturday after Pep Guardiola hinted at his involvement during his pre-match news conference.
The 19-year-old came off the bench in injury time to make his second top-flight appearance for his boyhood club, but City's 2-0 win was just the start of his day in sky blue.
Palmer made the short trip over the road to the CFA for the EDS' league game against Leicester City, which kicked off roughly two-and-a-half hours after the senior team game ended.
Not only did Palmer play the full 90 minutes, but his sensational hat-trick inspired a 5-0 routing to cap of an extraordinary day.
Playing twice for the club in one day and going home with the matchball - it's like something lifted straight from a comic book and what childhood City dreams are made of.
Like academy trail-blazer Phil Foden, Palmer was born and raised in Greater Manchester. Hailing from Wythenshawe, he has supported City all his life and now looks to be the youth teamer most capable of becoming a regular first-team player.
It's been a wonderful couple of months for the young attacking midfielder. Having spent pre-season with the first-team squad, he scored his first senior goal in September's 6-1 Carabao Cup defeat of Wycombe Wanderers.
City were already home and hosed, but Palmer didn't care as he surged forward and dispatched a sumptuous curling strike into the bottom corner to bring the biggest cheer of the night.
In September he scored on his England Under-21 debut, before also marking his second cap with a goal.
“He can play the five positions up front - he can play as the winger, as an attacking midfield, striker," Guardiola said of Palmer ahead of Tuesday's Champions League game in Bruges - speaking in the manner he does about all his favourite players.
"He is a guy who has a sense of goal, he is clinical there. He is a guy who has a big talent for that.
“We are happy to have him and he’s growing. The guy is growing since the two seasons with us. Every training session he is growing as a football player.
"Step by step but he is already two seasons training with us. He is completely involved in the dynamic of the group, the way we want to play."
As City fans found through witnessing Foden's stratospheric rise first-hand, there is something different when the object of our affection is more than just a club employee.
As much as we love the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, it's just that little bit more special when Foden or Palmer wins a tackle, plays a clever pass or scores.
Still, let's not get carried away. Palmer may well feature in more Premier League and Champions League games this season, he might even score a few more goals, but as fans let's not expect the world of him too soon.
It seems unfair to compare Palmer to Foden - the latter is a generational talent, perhaps the best the CFA will ever produce - but comparisons will undoubtedly happen at some point. Both are young Manchester lads, living out their dreams, playing as attacking midfielders...
It's important to remember that Foden had a slow but meticulously calculated start to life as a senior player at City. He made his first-team debut in November 2017, scored his first goal in September 2018 and bagged his first in the league in April 2019.
Last season he was one of City's best performers, but he still only started 17 of 38 Premier League games. This gradual easing into professional life was intentional on Guardiola's part - the last thing Foden needs is early career burnout from playing too much.
As the season goes on, City fans will understandably start clamouring for Palmer to see more minutes, just as we did with Foden.
But let's leave Pep to repeat his Foden trick and enjoy the gradual emergence of Palmer as a City star of the future. He is already showing that it is a question of when, not if, he will reach the top.
How good do you think Cole Palmer can become? Follow City Is Ours writer Alex Brotherton on Twitter to join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
