Vissel Kobe maintained their strong recent form with another three points in the 2025 MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE on Wednesday, edging a tight battle against fellow title hopefuls Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-0 at NOEVIR Stadium Kobe.
Erik was the hero for Kobe, heading home the only goal of the game midway through the second half to steer his side up into third place in the rankings, just one point behind current league-leaders Kashima Antlers.
Hiroshima started the brighter of the two sides and had a couple of half chances in the opening quarter of an hour, but Naoto Arai couldn’t get enough power in his shot in the ninth minute and Sota Nakamura squirted his attempt just off target after being teed up by Ryo Germain five minutes later.
Koya Yuruki had Kobe’s first meaningful chance in the 28th minute, but his low shot from outside the area went straight into the arms of Hiroshima goalkeeper Keisuke Osako.
Taisei Miyashiro then drew a smart stop from Osako with a left-footed attempt from just inside the area four minutes later, and with neither side able to find a way through the first half finished goalless.
The second period started the same as the first with Hiroshima probing and looking for the opener, and while Nakamura did incredibly well to get good purchase on a volley on the turn in the 51st minute, it was easy enough for Kobe goalkeeper Daiya Maekawa to gather.
Ryo Germain then had the biggest chance of the game to that point when he met a Shuto Nakano cross with a powerful header two minutes later, but to his dismay the ball bounced back off the post.
That set the stage for Erik to finally break the deadlock in the 66th minute, as the Brazilian rounded off a slick Kobe attack with the simplest of headers.
Miyashiro floated a diagonal pass in behind towards Daiju Sasaki, who chested the ball down before lifting it unselfishly back across goal to the far post where Erik was on hand to nod home with ease.
Chances were at a premium after that as Kobe looked to keep Hiroshima at arm’s length, and the closest the visitors came to equalising was in the fourth minute of injury time when Valere Germain directed a header towards goal only to see Maekawa once again equal to it.
The victory extended Kobe’s unbeaten run to five games, while Hiroshima now have just one win in their last five and remain in fifth place.
Vissel Kobe vs. Sanfrecce Hiroshima - Game Highlights | 2025 J1 LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | MW 5
