Hiroshima cruise past Nagoya in five-goal thriller
Sanfrecce Hiroshima saw out a comfortable 3:0 victory over Nagoya Grampus at Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima on Wednesday evening. The result keeps the hosts fourth in the J-League 1 table, eight points from their opening four matches, while the visitors drop to eighth with six points. And here's the thing — this wasn't the clean, controlled performance you might expect from such a scoreline. Nagoya pulled one back in stoppage time, which makes the final tally look more open than the match actually was.
Mutsuki Kato opened the scoring on 71 minutes, his first goal of the campaign. He had been on the pitch since the 45th-minute substitution for Takumu Kawamura, and barely ten minutes into his outing he found the net. To be fair, the chance itself came from one of Hiroshima's two big chances created, and Kato made no mistake with his finish. He was substituted off five minutes later, replaced by Hayao Kawabe, which suggests the manager was managing his workload rather than protecting him.
Akito Suzuki doubled the lead on 80 minutes, extending Hiroshima's advantage after Nagoya had settled into the game. Suzuki stayed on for the full duration of the second half before coming off on 90 minutes, which was perhaps generous given how little the away side threatened after that point. What followed was a flurry of substitutions on both sides, with Nagoya bringing on Yuya Asano, Ryuji Izumi and Yuki Nogami in quick succession. By then the match was effectively over.
Nagoya's response came on 90+1 minutes when Sébastien Haller scored a late consolation. The goal was worth noting, but it also highlighted how little the visitors had done to earn something. Yota Sato picked up a yellow card on 90+5 minutes, which felt like a reaction to the frustration rather than anything tactical. Hiroshima had nothing to do all evening after the 80th minute, which is perhaps the most telling detail of the performance.
The statistics tell the story clearly. Hiroshima registered seven shots on target with 44 per cent accuracy, while Nagoya managed just one shot on target from three attempts. Possession sat at 53 per cent for the hosts, but the real divide was in the final third: Hiroshima created two big chances against Nagoya's one, and their 12 key passes dwarfed the visitors' three. The away side were second to everything, particularly in aerial duels where they lost 11 to seven.
What this means for both teams is straightforward. Hiroshima remain unbeaten and move closer to the top half, while Nagoya's two defeats from four games leave them searching for consistency. The hosts had already shown they could score — their 4:1 win over Okinawa and 4:1 victory against Urawa were recent examples — but this was a different kind of performance. It wasn't about dominance; it was about efficiency. And that is often the difference between a side that struggles and one that climbs.
