FC Machida Zelvia are still on top of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League, continuing a remarkable start to the season that has seen the newly-promoted side leap into first place.
How did they do it? Let’s check in on that and all the other action from Matchweek 5:
FC Machida Zelvia 3, Sagan Tosu 1
Oh Se-hun broke the 1-1 tie with a pair of goals that fired Zelvia to their fourth consecutive win to keep them top of the table.
Cerezo Osaka 2, Shonan Bellmare 0
Kakeru Funaki headed home from a corner kick then Sota Kitano added a goal of his own to seal the victory for Cerezo as the Sakura kept hold of second place.
Vissel Kobe 6, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 1
Taisei Miyashiro and Yoshinori Muto each scored twice to lead Vissel to a dominant win that put them in third place, three points off the top.
Kashima Antlers 1, Júbilo Iwata 0
Yuma Suzuki’s penalty was all Kashima needed to keep cruising to another victory.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1, Gamba Osaka 1
Welton put Gamba ahead after 76 minutes, but Naoto Arai answered within two minutes with a long-range strike to earn Sanfrecce a draw.
Albirex Niigata 1, Kashiwa Reysol 1
Reysol took an early lead through Kosuke Kinoshita, but Kazuhiko Chiba scored a terrific equalizer on the full volley to rescue a point for Albirex.
Urawa Reds 2, Avispa Fukuoka 1
It was two Urawa newcomers combining for a classic comeback as Ryoma Watanabe and Thiago Santana each found the back of the net to earn the Reds a vital come-from-behind victory.
Kawasaki Frontale 3, FC Tokyo 0
Frontale sealed a Tamagawa Clasico victory to remember with goals from Yasuto Wakizaka, Shin Yamada, and Kento Tachibanada sparking celebrations in Kawasaki.
Nagoya Grampus 2, Yokohama F·Marinos 1
Grampus showed their grit, coming from behind to defeat Marinos, thanks to spectacular goals by Tsukasa Morishima and Ryosuke Yamanaka.
Tokyo Verdy 2, Kyoto Sanga 2
Itsuki Someno rescued Verdy with goals in the 80th and 93rd minute to pull his side back from 2-0 down to split the points in dramatic fashion.