After months of anticipation, the 2022 J.League 1 season finally kicked-off this week. Defending league champions Kawasaki Frontale took on Tamagawa Clasico rivals FC Tokyo at the Todoroki Athletics Stadium on Friday for their season opener and despite the Gasmen making life tough for Toru Oniki’s men in blue, the hosts managed to start off their 2022 campaign with a win thanks to a late strike from Leandro Damiao.
Still reeling from their 2022 Japanese Super Cup defeat at the hands of Urawa Red Diamonds, Kawasaki were determined to make amends by starting off their title defense in the best way possible, and the stakes were further raised by the fact that they’re playing at home against their local rivals. FC Tokyo underwent a face-lift following the departure of head coach Kenta Hasegawa, with former Barcelona youth coach Albert Puig now in charge of the Gasmen, and the Spaniard would be more than happy to nick something off the reigning J1 champions.
Two of the rivals’ new signings started proceedings in the latest edition of the Tamagawa Clasico, with Kawasaki’s Marcinho testing FC Tokyo goalie Jakub Slowik in the 18th minute. The Pole, fresh off a stint at recently-relegated Vegalta Sendai, managed to stand his ground firm and deny the Brazilian his debut goal.
After that, it was all FC Tokyo, with Kensuke Nagai and youngster Kuryu Matsuki combining together to unleash Leandro, with the Brazilian attempting to beat Jung Sung-ryong in the 24th minute, only for the Kawasaki goalie to deny him with his right hand.
Former Inter Milan, Galatasaray, and Marseille defender Yuto Nagatomo then made his bow in the 56th minute for FC Tokyo, before Nagai finally managed to get the better of Sung-ryong in the 60th minute with a blistering header from a free-kick, only for his effort to be chalked off for a very tight offside.
With 10 minutes remaining on the clock, substitute Daiya Tono saw his effort being palmed away by Slowik, which led to the decisive corner taken by Tono himself. Damiao met the incoming ball with a powerful header that finally crumbled Slowik’s defenses, earning Kawasaki the lead which they would retain all the way into the end of the match.
Saturday saw the remaining matches of this season’s J1 opening day being played out. Promoted sides Jubilo Iwata and Kyoto Sanga managed to emerge unbeaten from their first top-flight outing in two and 11 years respectively. Ryo Germain managed to score a last-gasp equalizer for Jubilo as the Shizuoka-based team drew 1-1 away at Avispa Fukuoka, while Kyoto managed to stun Urawa 1-0 thanks to a first half strike from evergreen striker Peter Utaka.
Other than the Avispa-Jubilo draw, there were three more draws occurring on Saturday – Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Sagan Tosu playing out a 0-0 draw at the Hiroshima Big Arch, Shimizu S-Pulse and Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo drawing 1-1 at the IAI Stadium Nihondaira, and an exciting 2-2 draw between Yokohama F. Marinos and Cerezo Osaka at the former’s Nissan Stadium, with Hiroshi Kiyotake scoring a 90th minute equalizer for Cerezo.
The remaining three opening day matches were won by teams playing against 10 men – Kashima Antlers prevailing 3-1 away at Gamba Osaka, Nagoya Grampus seeing off Vissel Kobe 2-0, and Shonan Bellmare sinking to a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Kashiwa Reysol.