The J1 League returned to action following the recent international period with its fifth round as clubs geared up for a busy period of matches which will last until the league’s two-month break for the FIFA World Cup.
The round’s first match took place on Friday night, with Kashiwa Reysol defeating Vissel Kobe 2-1. Junya Ito’s second goal of the night, in the 86th minute, was enough to negate Junya Tanaka’s equalizer for Vissel with 16 minutes left to play.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima returned to the top of the J1 table for the first time since 2015 with a somewhat controversial 1-0 win at reigning champions Kawasaki Frontale. After spending much of the match on the defensive, the visitors took the lead in the 85th minute when Patric headed home from a corner kick.
Frontale set out quickly for an equaliser and appeared to find it just before stoppage time when Tatsuya Hasegawa stuffed a rebound off Sanfrecce defender Hiroki Mizumoto into the net. However the goal was called off after consultation between the referees, prompting criticism by Frontale manager Toru Oniki after the match.
【明治安田J1第5節：川崎F×広島】
90分、#長谷川竜也 が押し込んだボールはゴールに吸い込まれたが、判定はオフサイド。 pic.twitter.com/OKBiYpPBwk— GOAL Japan (@GoalJP_Official) March 31, 2018
Other than Sanfrecce, the only unbeaten team left in the J1 are Vegalta Sendai, who defeated V-Varen Nagasaki 1-0 thanks to a first half goal by Takuma Nishimura.
At Ajinomoto Stadium, FC Tokyo handed a loss to manager Kenta Hasegawa’s former club Gamba Osaka with Diego Oliveira scoring the game-winner in a wild 3-2 result. The loss left Gamba with a 0-1-4 record to start the campaign.
🎦 ゴール動画
🏆 明治安田生命Ｊ１リーグ 第5節
🆚 FC東京vsＧ大阪
🔢 3-2
⌚️ 64分
⚽️ ディエゴ オリヴェイラ（FC東京）#Ｊリーグ
その他の動画はこちら👇https://t.co/JUEMOXLYeZ pic.twitter.com/ahjnyhlyCe— Ｊリーグ（日本プロサッカーリーグ） (@J_League) March 31, 2018
Saturday night saw another 3-2 barnburner, with Sagan Tosu overcoming Gabriel Xavier’s brace to defeat Nagoya Grampus through goals by Hideto Takahashi, Victor Ibarbo, and Kyosuke Tagawa in the final 20 minutes of the match.
The last match of the weekend offered plenty more thrills, with Jubilo Iwata fighting back for a 2-1 win over Urawa Reds as Kengo Kawamata scored twice. That result was the last straw for the reigning Asian champions, who fired manager Takafumi Hori on Monday morning.
Full Results: 2018 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League Round 5
Kashiwa Reysol 2-1 Vissel Kobe
Vegalta Sendai 1-0 V-Varen Nagasaki
Shimizu S-Pulse 0-1 Yokohama F. Marinos
Kashima Antlers 0-0 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
FC Tokyo 3-2 Gamba Osaka
Kawasaki Frontale 0-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Cerezo Osaka 2-1 Shonan Bellmare
Sagan Tosu 3-2 Nagoya Grampus
Jubilo Iwata 2-1 Urawa Reds
