Vissel Kobe, with Spaniards Andrés Iniesta, Sergi Samper and Bojan Krkic, consolidated third place, which gives access to the Asian Champions League, by beating Avispa Fukuoka 1-0 in a match on the 32nd round of the Japanese league.
Vissel, thanks to a goal from Brazilian Douglas with four minutes remaining, now have a three-point advantage over Nagoya (fourth), after their fourth victory in the last five games, and five points over Urawa Red Diamonds (fifth) from Spanish coach Ricardo Rodríguez, who could not get past the draw against Gamba Osaka (1-1) in a match in which both goals were scored in the extension.
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Yokohama Marinos, second in the table, beat Sapporo 2-1 with a final comeback and remain nine points behind intractable leader Kawasaki.
Dani Poyatos’s Tokushima fell in the Yokohama field (5-3) and has the descent one point closer, since their pursuer, Shonan, tied in the fiefdom of Sagan Tosu (1-1).
Miguel Ángel Lotina’s Shimizu lost 1-0 to Kashiwa, making life more difficult, as their margin over Shonan is only four points.