Daizen Maeda was once again the man of the hour for Yokohama F. Marinos as he played his game brilliantly in his side’s 2021 J.League 1 Matchweek 4 encounter on Sunday. Taking on Urawa Red Diamonds at the Nissan Stadium, Maeda scored a brace – that included a goal after just two minutes – as Yokohama romped their way to a comfortable 3-0 home win.
Yokohama managed to take the lead after just 120 seconds. Having won the ball deep within Urawa’s half, Ange Postecoglou’s men launched an early attack that saw Teruhito Nakagawa crossing the ball into the Urawa penalty area, where Maeda utilized his first touch to send the ball past Urawa keeper Shusaku Nishikawa and into the goal. 1-0 Yokohama and almost immediately Ricardo Rodriguez’s Urawa were shellshocked having barely getting themselves accustomed to the game yet.
23-year old Maeda, who penned a permanent deal with Yokohama during the off-season having initially joined them on loan from J.League 2 side Matsumoto Yamaga in 2020, extended the home side’s lead in the 26th minute. Takahiro Ogihara managed to win the ball off Atsuki Ito before laying the ball off towards Marcos Junior. The Brazilian sent a cross into the Urawa penalty box, however Nakagawa, the intended recipient of Marcos’ ball, mistimed his footing and slipped inside the area. The ball fell into the possession of Maeda, who smashed in a powerful volley past Nishikawa to make it 2-0 Yokohama.
Substitute Ryuta Koike then completed Yokohama’s rout in the 55th minute, finishing off a short pass from Marcos with a powerful shot that left Nishikawa defeated for the third time. 3-0 Yokohama and an off-color Urawa was easily seen off at a sunny Nissan Stadium.
Rounding off Matchweek 4 were two Kyushu sides earning draws, with Sagan Tosu frustrating Shimizu S-Pulse to no end as the two sides played out a goalless draw at Shimizu’s IAI Stadium Nihondaira, while Oita Trinita had Yamato Machida to thank as his 76th minute goal salvaged a point for the Turtles, with Oita playing out a 1-1 draw with FC Tokyo at the Showa Denko Dome.