Shunsuke Nakamura was at the heart of Yokohama F.Marinos’ 4-0 romp over Urawa Reds on Saturday, producing a perfect free-kick to help the hosts to their fourth consecutive MEIJI YASUDA J1 League victory.

The evergreen playmaker had been working hard to find his form during the second stage after being injured for large periods of the first, and managed to show all his qualities in a remarkable victory at Nissan Stadium.

Nakamura opened the scoring for his side with a trademark free-kick that sailed into the top right corner just before the half-hour mark, leaving Reds goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa with no chance at all.

Sho Ito next crossed for Manabu Saito to tap home F.Marinos second, before the 25-year-old completed his brace by pulling a wonderful long-range strike out of the bag, rifling in a spectacular left-footed attempt to compound the Reds’ misery.

The demolition job was complete when Nakamura showed off his set-piece prowess again, floating in a corner kick for Fabio to head in and conclude a miserable day at the office for Mihailo Petrovic’s first stage winners.

Only slightly more impressive was Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s 5-2 demolition of Nagoya Grampus, with Douglas putting away a hat-trick - the Brazilian glancing in his first of the night to give his team their opener after six minutes.

Hisato Sato followed that up with a customary finish inside the box, but Hajime Moriyasu’s men had to wait till the 52nd minute before they secured their third, Douglas arriving into the box to finish first-time.

Takuma Asano shook off a knock picked up on Japan duty to come off the bench to fire in the hosts’ fourth from the penalty spot, before Takuto Hayashi crucially turned away Marcus Tulio Tanaka’s own attempt from the spot.

Grampus did eventually find their own breakthrough via Yusuke Muta and Kensuke Nagai in the space of two minutes, but Douglas, determined to have the last word, headed in Mihael Mikic’s right-wing cross for his third of the night.

Determined not to be outdone, Vissel Kobe completed preparations for their upcoming Yamazaki Nabisco Cup quarter-final tie by defeating hapless Sagan Tosu 7-1 despite going down first to Yohei Toyoda’s opener.

Nelsinho’s outfit soon went in front with a pair of headers from Kazuma Watanabe and Leandro before half time; the Brazilian then capitalising on a defensive blunder to put VIssel 3-1 up right after the break.

Far from content to merely hold on to their lead, the home team turned the screw and netted further through Takuya Iwanami, Daisuke Ishizu and Ryota Morioka, before Watanabe completed his brace in the 72nd minute to cap a resounding win.

Kashima Antlers secured a win that was far less comprehensive, winning 3-1 at Kawasaki Frontale, albeit impressively for their sixth victory in a row that crucially keeps them top of the second stage standings for one more week.

After a first half in which neither side were able to convert their chances, Caio netted the belated opener with a precise drive from outside the box, before Mu Kanazaki was able to scramble home to double Antlers’ lead seven minutes later.

Elsinho pulled one back for Frontale in the 84th minute, but hopes of a late comeback were extinguished when Antlers’ substitute Shuhei Akasaki scored in the third minute of added time.

In other action on the night, FC Tokyo managed a 1-1 draw at Shimizu S-Pulse thanks to Kosuke Ota’s stunning free-kick equaliser, while Albirex Niigata snatched a 1-0 win at Vegalta Sendai in a game which Taikai Uemoto was sent off for the hosts.