There’s a new first and second place team in the Meiji Yasuda J1 League table. Let’s check in on who leads the pack and how they got there in Matchweek 11:
FC Machida Zelvia 2, Kashiwa Reysol 0
Oh Se-hun hit first and Shunta Araki hit second as Zelvia took full points against Reysol to regain their place atop the table.
Nagoya Grampus 0, Vissel Kobe 2
Hotaru Yamaguchi and Yuya Osako both scored with rockets from 20 yards as the reigning champions defeated Grampus to move into second place, just two points off the top.
Cerezo Osaka 1, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 1
Léo Ceará stayed red hot with his seventh goal in the last six matches but Yuya Asano’s early tally was good enough to earn a road point for Consadole and drop Cerezo from first to third in the table.
Albirex Niigata 1, Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1
Albirex played nearly an hour down a man, but Yoshiaki Takagi scored deep into stoppage time to rescue them a phenomenal point against Sanfrecce.
Kashima Antlers 3, Shonan Bellmare 1
Yuma Suzuki scored his third goal in as many games to lead Kashima to a dominant win against Shonan that has them just three points back of first place.
FC Tokyo 2, Kyoto Sanga 1
FC Tokyo earned three points against Sanga at the Ajinomoto Stadium after Kashif Bangnagande and Diego Oliveira both scored their second goal of the season.
Yokohama F·Marinos 1, Júbilo Iwata 1
Anderson Lopes’ sixth goal of the campaign wasn’t enough for F·Marinos, who conceded a late Matheus Peixoto header that earned Júbilo a point in Yokohama.
Avispa Fukuoka 1, Gamba Osaka 0
Iranian striker Shahab Zahedi is on an absolute tear so far in Japan and he scored his best goal yet, netting from well in his own half to beat Gamba and set off celebrations in Fukuoka.
Kawasaki Frontale 3, Urawa Reds 1
Yasuto Wakizaka, Asahi Sasaki and Akihiro Ienaga all found the back of the net as Frontale won against the Reds to snap a five-match winless streak.
Sagan Tosu 0, Tokyo Verdy 2
Yudai Kimura's penalty earned the lead before Yuan Matsuhashi sealed the win in stoppage-time to stretch Verdy’s unbeaten streak to eight matches and leave Sagan Tosu in the drop zone.