Yokohama F. Marinos set aside their opening day defeat woes and put up a performance oozing with confidence in their second 2024/25 AFC Champions League Elite outing as they thrashed Ulsan HD 4-0 at the Nissan Stadium on Wednesday.
After suffering a 7-3 defeat against South Korean dark horses Gwangju FC in their first match, J.League 1 giants Yokohama made a strong comeback with a dominant performance against fellow Koreans Ulsan in what was a rematch of last season’s AFC Champions League semifinal.
Kota Watanabe opened the scoring for John Hutchinson’s Yokohama just four minutes into the game, and Takuma Nishimura doubled the lead just before halftime. Anderson Lopes added a third late in the game, and Kota Mizunuma rounded off the rout with a fourth in injury time, securing Marinos’ first points of the campaign. Meanwhile, Ulsan remain without a point, having also lost their opening match against Kawasaki Frontale.
Yokohama came out strong from the start, with Lopes setting up Elber, who then laid the ball off for Watanabe to calmly slot home the opener. Ulsan almost went further behind when Yan Matheus had a goal ruled out for handball, despite a poor clearance from Ulsan goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo gifting the Brazilian the opportunity.
Ulsan’s Yago Cariello had a rare chance in the 28th minute, but his deflected shot was easily dealt with by Hiroki Iikura. Yokohama responded with a devastating counterattack just before halftime, as Nishimura finished off a swift move involving Elber, Lopes, and Matheus to make it 2-0.
Ulsan attempted to fight back in the second half, with Yago’s header going close, but it was Yokohama who continued to dominate. Lopes sealed the result with a powerful left-footed strike from the edge of the area, and Mizunuma added the final blow in injury time after Kenta Inoue’s run left Ulsan’s defense in disarray.
With this commanding victory, Yokohama earned their first win of the group stage, leaving Ulsan still searching for their first points.