Sanfrecce Hiroshima defeated Urawa Red Diamonds 4:1 in the J-League 1 regular season at the weekend. The visitors took control early and never looked back, extending their unbeaten run to five matches with the victory.
They opened the scoring in the sixteenth minute when Akito Suzuki finished a move. Two minutes later came a strange moment — Sasaki Sho received a yellow card and H. Araki turned the ball into his own net, giving Urawa the lead by accident.
And here's the thing about that second twenty-first minute. Araki's own goal was the only chance Urawa created, and it came from a defensive mix-up rather than anything they built. By then Sanfrecce had already won the psychological battle.
Tsukasa Shiotani restored the visitors' advantage just before half-time with two goals in quick succession. The home side made changes at the break — A. Onaiwu came on — but it was too little, too late. Sanfrecce added a third in the sixty-first through Sébastien Haller, who was substituted off in the sixty-third.
The statistics tell a straightforward story. Urawa managed only two shots, one on target, against nine for Sanfrecce. They had one corner to eleven, and their goalkeeper made five saves while his counterpart had just one to make.
The result leaves Sanfrecce fifth with eleven points from six games, while Urawa sit twelfth on nine points. The gap between them is widening, and for the home side the next few weeks are touch and go.