Kawasaki Frontale have lost a slew of top players to Europe in recent years so when they went in search of an attacking player to step in and continue their front line excellence, they knew they had to aim high.

Enter: Chanathip Songkrasin. The Thai star was brought over from Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo to keep the Frontale attack humming, and on Saturday they saw him deliver.

Facing the famed Nagoya Grampus defense, Frontale were always going to be challenged to find the back of the net. That proved to be the case as the Grampus backline played excellently, but Frontale broke through once, and it began with Chanathip.

The Thai star collected the ball from deep and saw Marcinho making a diagonal run. Chanathip perfectly slotted a ball through the Nagoya defense and, aided by a pretty Leandro Damião dummy, Marcinho was in all alone on goal to finish for the match’s lone goal.

It may have been a quiet start to his 2022 but Chanathip’s assist could be the spark he needed. His pass found Marcinho, Marcinho found the net, and Frontale found themselves yet again at the top of the table at the end of Matchweek 4.