Vissel Kobe and Kashima Antlers entered the weekend level on points for fourth place, and their clash at Noevir Stadium Kobe was understandably billed as a battle between teams vying for an AFC Champions League berth for next season. For nearly 80 minutes, it looked like neither team would come out on top, but then Yoshinori Muto got involved.

The forward, signed by Kobe earlier this month, made his debut when he came off the bench at halftime and took a little time to find his footing. But once he did, he started driving play and in the 79th minute delivered a spectacular trivela cross that split the goalkeeper and would-be defender before finding the onrushing Hotaru Yamaguchi to tap in for the match-winning goal.

Vissel have spent the last couple weeks retooling their attack after selling the league’s leading goalscorer, Kyogo Furuhashi, to Scotland’s Celtic FC. The biggest move in that process was unquestionably signing Muto, who came up in the F.C.Tokyo academy before spending the last six years playing for clubs in Germany, England and Spain.

Now, the Japan national teamer is back in the domestic league and ready to shine for Vissel. It took him just one half of play to deliver a huge victory over one of their rivals for continental qualification, and now Vissel are hoping he can lead them to their highest-ever league finish and a spot in the AFC Champions League.