Toyota, Aichi Pref. – Yoshinori Muto helped spark a second-half comeback as Vissel Kobe scored twice from set items in a 2-2 away draw in opposition to Nagoya Grampus within the J. League first division on Sunday.
Trailing because the opening minutes in a battle between groups tussling for a top-three end and a spot in subsequent yr’s Asian Champions League, Muto scored Vissel’s first from a nook, earlier than Andres Iniesta scored from the spot within the 81st minute after Muto was fouled within the space at Toyota Stadium.
“We didn’t play nicely from the get-go, however we weren’t going to surrender within the second half and simply let it keep 2-0,” stated Muto, the previous Newcastle participant who joined Vissel in the course of the summer time after six years in Europe.
“From the standpoint of the workforce, it was a recreation that gave us one thing to construct on shifting ahead.”
The draw left Vissel third with 61 factors, and Grampus fourth with 58 and forward of the fifth-place Urawa Reds on purpose distinction.
The hosts drew first blood, as Gabriel Xavier’s lengthy diagonal go unleashed Yuki Soma down the left flank, the place he crossed to Naoki Maeda. Maeda, unmarked in entrance of the purpose, had a straightforward tap-in after keeper Hiroki Iikura slipped on the turf.
Grampus keeper Mitch Langerak made a pleasant save within the eleventh minute on a header arrange by a brilliant go from Iniesta, and issues continued to go Grampus’ means. Midfielder Sho Inagaki minimize off a Vissel go and launched a counter with a via ball to Jakub Swierczok.
The Pole embarrassed defender Ryuho Kikuchi, evading two of his tried tackles earlier than scoring via one other defender’s legs.
Fourteen minutes after the break, the guests transformed a nook kick that floated towards the again of the penalty space. Defender Thomas Vermaelen bounced his header to Muto, who beat a defender to the ball and poked residence from contained in the six-yard field.
Muto then helped create the equalizer.
Two defenders closed in on him within the space within the 76th minute. He fell when defender Yutaka Yoshida stumbled into him from behind and the VAR indicated a penalty was warranted. As Langerak dove to his left, Iniesta fired into the highest of the web to degree the scores.
Elsewhere, Consadole Sapporo performed out a scoreless draw at residence in opposition to Avispa Fukuoka of their mid-table conflict. In Kawasaki, a Forty seventh-minute Leandro Damiao purpose was all first-place Frontale wanted in a 1-0 win over Shimizu S-pulse, who remained two factors away from the drop zone.
Frontale prolonged their lead over second-placed Yokohama F Marinos to 12 factors after Marinos misplaced 2-1 away to Cerezo Osaka.
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