Kawasaki lead from the front

Kawasaki Frontale cemented their recent domination of Japanese football by securing their fourth J.League title in five years with four matches left to play, the same as last year. They sped out from the blocks with five straight wins, set a new J.League record of 25 games without defeat from the start of the season, and finished13 points clear of their nearest rivals, Yokohama F. Marinos.

Even so, there was a difficult period in August when key players left the club, Kawasaki stumbled, and Yokohama reduced the gap to a single