The top three in the Meiji Yasuda J1 League remains unchanged after they all won in Matchweek 7 to establish themselves as the clear triumvirate leading the pack. Let’s check in on FC Machida Zelvia, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Cerezo Osaka, as well as everyone else from the week that was:

Kawasaki Frontale 0, FC Machida Zelvia 1

FC Machida Zelvia continued their remarkable J1 debut season, remaining at the top of the table after Shota Fujio buried a great cross from Kazuki Fujimoto to claim victory in Kawasaki.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2, Shonan Bellmare 0

Song Bum-keung’s 48th-minute red card doomed Bellmare as Yuki Ohashi scored twice after to keep Sanfrecce right on Zelvia’s heels, one point off the leaders.

Albirex Niigata 0, Cerezo Osaka 1

Léo Ceará was on the mark and Justin Hubner made his Cerezo debut off the bench to help preserve the win as Cerezo stayed level with Sanfrecce in the chase for first.

Vissel Kobe 1, Yokohama F·Marinos 2

Strikers Anderson Lopes and Taisei Miyashiro traded goals before goalkeeper Daiya Maekawa was sent off for Kobe. Yan Matheus made 10-man Vissel pay with a marvelous goal that delivered full points to Yokohama.

Urawa Reds 3, Sagan Tosu 0

Thiago Santana scored after five minutes and Urawa never looked back, adding goals by Yusuke Matsuo and Tomoaki Okubo to move level with fourth-place Vissel on 11 points.

FC Tokyo 2, Kashima Antlers 0

FC Tokyo made it a Kokuritsu Day to remember as goals from Teruhito Nakagawa and Riki Harakawa gave the capital club a dominant win over Kashima.

Tokyo Verdy 1, Kashiwa Reysol 1

Fuki Yamada’s third goal of the season was enough to extend Verdy’s unbeaten streak to four matches, while Kosuke Kinoshita’s goal made it three straight draws for Reysol.

Nagoya Grampus 0, Avispa Fukuoka 0

Fukuoka had triple the shots of Nagoya, but they couldn’t find a way through in the scoreless draw.

Kyoto Sanga 0, Júbilo Iwata 3

It was joy for Júbilo as a goal from Shunsuke Nishikubo and a brace from Matheus Peixoto earned the newly promoted side an impressive away win in Kyoto that has them up to 11th place.

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 1, Gamba Osaka 0

Consadole have the first win and Gamba have their first loss after Hiroki Miyazawa's second-half header earned Hokkaido the victory and brought the Sapporo Dome to its feet.