Matchweek 6 of the 2021 J.League 1 season started off with a real classic as Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo and Vissel Kobe played out an absolute thriller of a match at the Sapporo Dome in Saturday. Hosts Consadole raced to a 3-0 lead thanks to an Anderson Lopes hat-trick, however Vissel fought back valiantly and braces from both Hotaru Yamaguchi and Kyogo Furuhashi ensured that the men from Hyogo Prefecture would emerge out as 4-3 victors.
Saturday’s only Matchweek 6 game saw the owls of Consadole locking horns with the oxen of Vissel at the Sapporo Dome, with the away side still without the injured Andres Iniesta and the home side brandishing their fearsome attacking quintet of Anderson, Chanathip Songkrasin, Lucas Fernandes, Takuro Kaneko, and Daiki Suga.
The hosts were awarded a penalty on the stroke of half-time, after Lucas was fouled within the penalty box by Vissel striker Daiju Sasaki, who was booked for his troubles. Anderson, who was tasked with taking the penalty, made no mistakes at all with his assignment, slotting a powerful shot past Vissel goalie Daiya Maekawa who went towards the right direction but couldn’t get to the ball fast enough.
With Consadole commanding a 1-0 lead, the Northerners were once again awarded a penalty deep into stoppage time after Tetsushi Yamakawa improperly challenged Akito Fukumori within the area. Once again entrusted with the spot kick, Anderson defeated Maekawa for the second time in the game, this time completely catching the goalkeeper off-guard as the Brazilian blasts his penalty to the bottom right corner while Maekawa went for the left.
Now with Consadole two goals to the good, Anderson completed his hat-trick only 60 seconds after the restart, with a combination of a cross from Lucas and a mistimed back-heel from Vissel defender Yuki Kobayashi enabling the Brazilian striker to beat Maekawa for the third time using a well-taken finish from close-range.
Hotaru reduced the deficit for Vissel in the 53rd minute, receiving a pin-point pass from substitute Yuya Nakasaka before blasting a powerful cannonball past Consadole goalkeeper Kojiro Nakano. Four minutes later Vissel reduced the deficit even more, with Furuhashi seizing a mistake from a Consadole defender before performing a superb solo run deep into the vacant Consadole penalty area, going around a barging Nakano before splashing the ball into the empty net.
Vissel were then awarded a penalty of their own in the 67th minute, after Nakano took out Sasaki inside the former’s own area. Furuhashi took no hesitation with his penalty and slammed home the equalizer past a diving Nakano, pegging a once-dominant Consadole back into square one.
And Vissel’s comeback was complete in the 86th minute, with Sasaki dancing his way past Consadole’s defenders into the Northerners’ penalty area before angling the ball towards Hotaru. The 30-year old midfielder immediately greeted the incoming ball with a powerful screamer from the edge of the area, stunning Nakano and ensuring that Atsuhiro Miura’s Vissel would come out on top in this absolute classic.
Matchweek 6 continues on Sunday with a plethora of matches – Oita Trinita taking on Sanfrecce Hiroshima at the Showa Denko Dome, FC Tokyo accepting the challenge of Vegalta Sendai at the Ajinomoto Stadium, Yokohama FC traveling to Tokushima Vortis’ Pocari Sweat Stadium, Urawa Red Diamonds locking horns with defending champions Kawasaki Frontale at the Saitama Stadium 2002, Shonan Bellmare facing-off against Cerezo Osaka at the Shonan BMW Stadium Hiratsuka, Kashima Antlers hosting Nagoya Grampus at the Kashima Soccer Stadium, Kashiwa Reysol welcoming Shimizu S-Pulse to the Hitachi Kashiwa Stadium, and last but not least the Kyushu Clasico – with Avispa Fukuoka making that short trip down the Kagoshima Main Line to the Ekimae Real Estate Stadium to take on Sagan Tosu.
Following Gamba Osaka’s COVID-19 situation, Yokohama F. Marinos will have the entirety of Matchweek 6 off to themselves as Ange Postecoglou’s men’s trip to the Panasonic Stadium Suita was postponed.