TOKYO: Kawasaki Frontale lost 5-2 to Kashiwa Reysol on Saturday but held the top spot in the J-League second stage as rival Urawa Reds were also defeated.
Kashiwa's forward Diego Oliveira scored two goals in the initial five minutes at Kawasaki's Todoroki stadium.
The Brazilian striker made it a hat-trick later in the first half after heading the ball into the net, diminishing the morale of Kawasaki for the rest of the game.
Runner-up Urawa suffered their second defeat in the second stage as they were beaten by lowly Vissel Kobe 2-1 after forward Kazuma Watanabe scored a 54-minute game-winning goal for Kobe.
Kawasaki were tied with Urawa at 22 points but edged the nation's best-supported club on goal difference.
The misery continued for bottom club Nagoya Grampus as they remained without a win for a humiliating 18 games this season after being held 1-1 by FC Tokyo.
Nagoya fired coach and general manager Takashi Ogura on Tuesday and replaced him with Bosko Djurovski, who was appointed assistant coach earlier this month.
On Wednesday, Jubilo Iwata beat Avispa Fukuoka 3-2 as defender Avraam Papadopoulos scored his first J-League goal for Iwata after his teammate Brazilian midfielder Adailton netted two goals.
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