J1 League Match Week 36 Recap: Kashima and Kashiwa both win to ensure title race remains nip and tuck | Tin tức

2025 MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE leaders Kashima Antlers kept hold of top spot with a 2-1 win over Yokohama FC on Saturday, but Kashiwa Reysol ensured they remain just one point behind in second place after securing a 1-0 victory at home to Nagoya Grampus.

Neither side were able to find a way through in a cagey first 45 minutes at Mercari Stadium, but two goals in three second-half minutes swung the tie in Kashima’s favour.

First, in the 62nd minute, Kyosuke Tagawa cut into the penalty area and squared for Leo Ceara to stroke home from the centre of the box and then, three minutes later, Kei Chinen rose highest at an in-swinging Ryoya Ogawa corner from the right to double Kashima’s lead.

Yokohama FC halved the deficit in the 67th minute when Boniface Nduka headed in from close range after Lukian played the ball back across goal, but Kashima were able to protect their goal advantage and take one step closer towards the title.

Kashiwa are making sure to push them all the way though, and also picked up a vital three points thanks to an unfortunate 47th-minute own goal by Nagoya defender Kennedy Egbus Mikuni.

Wataru Harada was the provider for Kashiwa, and after he broke in behind on the right flank and sent a low cross into the area Mikuni couldn’t avoid sending the ball into his own net as he raced back to cover.

Elsewhere, there were goals galore as two already-relegated sides came head to head at Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka, where Shonan Bellmare recorded an emphatic 5-2 win against Albirex Niigata.

Shonan moved in front after a long punt downfield from goalkeeper Kota Sanada set Akito Suzuki in on goal in the 35th minute, with the 22-year-old making no mistake to notch his eighth goal of the season.

Taiyo Hiraoka made it 2-0 three minutes later after converting crisply from Rio Nitta’s cut-back, before Kosuke Onose added a third for Shonan with a cool finish from the edge of the area seven minutes into the second half.

Suzuki struck again in the 70th minute and Kohei Okuno made it 5-0 with a fierce drive two minutes later, before Motoki Hasegawa’s 85th-minute penalty and Matheus Moraes’ curler in the 91st minute salvaged a little pride late on for Niigata.

The day’s other games both finished all square, as Fagiano Okayama equalised late on to claim a 1-1 draw away to Kawasaki Frontale - Yuki Yamamoto giving Kawasaki-F the lead in the 84th minute but Masaya Matsumoto heading a reply for Okayama in the fifth minute of stoppage time - and Tokyo Verdy and Avispa Fukuoka drew 0-0.