Urawa Reds made it three wins from eight J-League 1 games when they beat Tokyo Verdy 3:1 at Saitama 2002 on Saturday. The visitors had more of the ball and launched more attacks, but the hosts took their chances and moved off the bottom half of the table.
And here's the thing about the opening exchanges — Tokyo Verdy pressed early and Shuhei Mizoguchi picked up a yellow card at 12 minutes, but it was Urawa who struck first. Matheus Sávio opened his account at 24 minutes before adding a second just eight minutes later. The crowd sensed blood and the visitors could not settle.
By then Minamino had found space to slot home at 44 minutes, and the visitors' goalkeeper had already made his only save of the match. Hayato Hirao came off at half-time for Tokyo Verdy, a move that did not change the direction of play. Three goals in 20 minutes put the game beyond reach.
To be fair, the statistics tell a different story. Tokyo Verdy enjoyed 53 per cent possession and registered 63 attacks against 55, yet created zero big chances while Urawa produced two. The visitors had four shots on target but only one hit the frame, and their goalkeeper made a single save all afternoon.
Arai pulled one back at 62 minutes, and the match opened up a little, but Urawa controlled the tempo from there. They brought on Sávio at 81 minutes after his brace, and the substitution pattern showed they were happy to see out the result. The hosts finished with 244 successful passes to 291 for the visitors.
The win moves Urawa to nine points in 12th place, while Tokyo Verdy remain in 19th with four points from seven games. The visitors have now gone five matches without a victory and their goal difference tells the story of a team struggling to score.
