Kasawaki Frontale extended their winning streak to seven matches by topping Gamba Osaka in the Meiji Yasuda J1 League Match-day 8, which took place on August 1 and 2.
The only goal in the big match between two title contenders was scored in the 48th minute by Ryota Oshima. A 1-0 win meant Kawasaki have won seven consecutive matches, that earned them a five-point lead at the top of the league table.
Kashiwa Reysol came back with a precious 1-0 from Nagoya, thanks to Olunga’s winner in the 71st minute. As the visitors climb up to the fourth place after winning the last four games, Grampus suffered their first defeat of the season. Cerezo Osaka broke the deadlock against Shonan Bellmare away when Hiroshi Kiyotake netted his first goal of the season in the 72nd minute, and defended the lead until the end. Cerezo now are back in the second place, after their first win in three games.
Yokohama F.Marinos defeated Vegalta Sendai in a dramatic fashion as Marcos Júnior scored the winner deep into additional time. Sanfrecce Hiroshima comfortably beat Yokohama FC 2-0 with goals by Tsukasa Morishima and Douglas Vieira. It was Hiroshima’s first victory in five matches, and the fourth defeat in a row for Yokohama FC. Urawa Reds drew 1-1 with Shimizu S-Pulse as Leonardo’s goal in the 54th minute was canceled out by an equalizer in the 86th minute.
Sagan Tosu traveled to the Japanese capital to face FC Tokyo. Kaisei Ishii gave them the lead in the 30th minute, and after the home side equalized, Ryota Morishita again put the away side ahead before half-time. Cho Dong-geon added another goal to lead Tosu to a 3-2 win, their first of the season. Kashima Antlers cruised through a comfortable 4-1 win against Oita Trinita away, thanks to Everaldo’s hat-trick. Their second win of the season pulled them up to the 12th place
The clash between Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo and Vissel Kobe produced a total of five goals.Takuma Arano gave Sapporo the lead in the 29th minute, but Kobe equalized only two minutes later through Hotaru Yamaguchi’s strike and Douglas completed the comeback in the 45th minute. Arano scored his second early in the second half, but Yamaguchi also added one more goal, to help Kobe bring home the three points.