The defending Meiji Yasuda J1 League champions and Top Scorer started off the 2022 season in style on Friday night as Kawasaki Frontale got a goal from Leandro Damião to beat F.C.Tokyo, 1-0.

Frontale captured their fourth league title in the last five years in 2021, led by Damião, whose 23 goals earned him joint Top Scorer honors. That is a very high bar for them to clear this year, both as a team and individually, but Frontale and Damião got the result they wanted against F.C.Tokyo, though they had to work hard for it.

The champions were on the front foot early on and nearly scored as Damião fed Marcinho for a golden chance, but his shot was smartly pushed onto the post by Jakub Słowik.

F.C.Tokyo had their fair share of shots, but Frontale mostly limited them to efforts from distance as last season’s top-ranked defense kept the visitors out of the box. Tokyo did have one great chance as they got in behind the Frontale defense, but Jung Sung-Ryong made a terrific save to keep the match level.

Late in the match, Frontale really put on the pressure and forced Słowik into action, finally getting one past the goalkeeper in the 80th minute. Daiya Tono served a corner kick to the near post, where Damião met it with an excellent header while moving away from goal, directed it just inside the far post for the winner.

The season is only one matchweek old, but Frontale have full points and Damião is on the scoresheet. The champions are looking mighty once again.