The Meiji Yasuda J1 League is looking blue, white and red. Not only are Yokohama F·Marinos moving ever closer to a second straight title, but Anderson Lopes’ lead atop the scoring chart continues to grow as he’s up to 15 goals on the campaign.
Let’s check in on the Tricolor and all the other Matchweek 18 action:
Yokohama F·Marinos 4,Shonan Bellmare 1
Anderson Lopes’ brace extended his lead atop the Top Scorer table and Marinos’ advantage on top of the league. It also spoiled Shuto Machino’s last match for Bellmare before leaving for Germany, but he did manage a goal in his farewell.
Nagoya Grampus 2,Kawasaki Frontale 0
Kasper Junker took advantage of a goalkeeper error and Ryuji Izumi finished a gorgeous move to take Nagoya to a victory that leapt them back into second place.
Vissel Kobe 1,Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 1
Supachok Sarachat stole the spotlight in Andrés Iniesta’s farewell match with a first half goal, but Matheus Thuler rescued a point late for the third place Ushi as they aim to keep their title pursuit alive.
Sagan Tosu 1,Urawa Reds 2
Sagan struck just eight minutes after kick off, but José Kanté, equalized right after and Ken Iwao won it as Urawa extended their unbeaten streak to nine matches.
Cerezo Osaka 0,Avispa Fukuoka 1
Lukian’s outstanding headed finish was all Avi needed to snap their four-match losing streak and leave Osaka with full points.
Kashima Antlers 0,Kyoto Sanga 0
Kashima and Sanga traded the ball and chances, but both defenses were mostly excellent and sent the match to the final whistle with no breakthrough.
Albirex Niigata 2,Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0
Shunsuke Mito and Naoto Arai scored three minutes apart to earn Albi their first win since May 14 and hand Sanfrecce their third straight loss.
Diego Oliveira kept his torrid run of form going with his seventh goal in F.C.Tokyo’s last six matches to win it for the capital club.
The Fulie snapped Gamba Osaka’s four-match win streak with a strong defensive performance that saw the two teams split the points in Yokohama.
