Bottom beat top in the 2025 MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE on Sunday, as Yokohama F･Marinos burst out of the traps to defeat Kashima Antlers 3-1 at Nissan Stadium.
Yokohama F･M had lost seven games in a row and Kashima had won each of their past seven heading into the clash, but the hosts drew first blood after just four minutes when Katsuya Nagato fired Yokohama F･M ahead. Yan Matheus doubled their advantage nine minutes later, before curling home a glorious effort from outside the area in the 27th minute to make it 3-0.
Leo Ceara pulled one back for a shell-shocked Kashima in the 36th minute, somehow diverting the ball into the net while looking to regain his footing after a tumble in the penalty area, but there weren’t to be any more goals and Yokohama F･M could celebrate a first MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE win since March 16th.
Another side in the relegation zone was also celebrating, as Albirex Niigata came from behind to defeat Shonan Bellmare 2-1.
Luiz Phellype opened the scoring for Shonan after 20 minutes, but Kaito Taniguchi drew Niigata level 11 minutes later and Yota Komi struck the decisive goal in the 71st minute, slotting home confidently after being teed up by Taniguchi.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima continued their recent rich vein of form, meanwhile, claiming a comfortable 3-0 win away to FC TOKYO.
All three goals came in the second half at Japan National Stadium, as Hayato Araki, Ryo Germain, and Hayao Kawabe struck to extend Hiroshima’s winning run to five games and lift them to third place in the table, five points behind leaders Kashima with a game in hand.
Shimizu S-Pulse also found the net three times, as they chalked up a 3-2 win at home to Vissel Kobe.
Koya Kitagawa and Sen Takagi put Shimizu 2-0 up inside the first 24 minutes, and although Taisei Miyashiro pulled one back for Kobe in the 57th minute Takagi re-established Shimizu’s two-goal lead 15 minutes later. Miyashiro struck again in the first minute of injury time, but it was too little too late for Kobe.
Elsewhere, Yuta Arai’s vicious 94th-minute strike earned Tokyo Verdy a dramatic 1-0 win over Kyoto Sanga F.C., Yokohama FC and Kashiwa Reysol drew 1-1 - Musashi Suzuki putting Yokohama FC ahead and Mao Hosoya equalising for Kashiwa - and the games between Kawasaki Frontale and Gamba Osaka and Fagiano Okayama and FC Machida Zelvia both ended 2-2.
Takashi Usami and Ryoya Yamashita put G-Osaka 2-1 up after Marcinho had opened the scoring for Kawasaki-F, but Tatsuya Ito earned a point for the hosts, while two goals inside five minutes from Yuki Soma and Mitchell Duke drew FC Machida level after Kazunari Ichimi and Takaya Kimura had given Okayama a 2-0 lead.
️Yokohama F・Marinos vs. Kashima Antlers - Game Highlights | 2025 J1 LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | MW 18
Albirex Niigata vs. Shonan Bellmare - Game Highlights | 2025 J1 LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | MW 18
FC TOKYO vs. Sanfrecce Hiroshima - Game Highlights | 2025 J1 LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | MW 18
Shimizu S-Pulse vs. Vissel Kobe - Game Highlights | 2025 J1 LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | MW 18
Tokyo Verdy vs. Kyoto Sanga F.C. - Game Highlights | 2025 J1 LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | MW 18
Yokohama FC vs. Kashiwa Reysol - Game Highlights | 2025 J1 LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | MW 18
Kawasaki Frontale vs. Gamba Osaka - Game Highlights | 2025 J1 LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | MW 18
Fagiano Okayama vs. FC Machida Zelvia - Game Highlights | 2025 J1 LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | MW 18
