J1 League Regular Season - 17

Cerezo Osaka 6 - 1 FT Nagoya Grampus

Yodoko Sakura Stadium

Match previews and recaps to help you decide which games are worth watching

Futmetrix Verdict
93
FT
Sun, May 17
日本語
Cerezo Osaka
6-1
Nagoya Grampus
⚡ Intensity 100
⚖️ Balance 9
🏆 Stakes 78
🎲 Upset 0
Cerezo hit Grampus for six

A Counter-Attacking Masterclass in Osaka

Must-Watch Futmetrix Score: 93/100. Cerezo Osaka dismantled title-chasing Nagoya Grampus in a ruthless transition display that severely dents the visitors' championship aspirations.

The Opening Salvo

The atmosphere at Yodoko Sakura Stadium crackled from the first exchange, setting the stage for an extraordinary J1 League shock. Cerezo Osaka came into this fixture stumbling through a dire run of form, but they ripped up the script instantly. S. Tanaka triggered the avalanche with a clinical strike just 12 minutes in. Nagoya Grampus dominated possession, keeping the ball for 61% of the contest, but their high line was a tactical suicide mission against the hosts' transitions. A massive Intensity rating tells the story of Cerezo’s relentless pressing. That pressure paid off when Y. Yokoyama found space to double the advantage on 22 minutes, leaving the high-flying visitors completely shell-shocked.

Intervention and Despair

The visitors desperately sought a lifeline, but the footballing gods and technology conspired against them. Nagoya thought they had sparked a comeback at minute 37, only for VAR to rule out the effort for offside. Cerezo immediately capitalised on the visitors' despair, racing down the pitch for Yokoyama to seal his brilliant brace just two minutes later. Y. Kimura finally bundled one home for Nagoya just before the break, momentarily shifting the Balance of the tie. However, when Y. Nogami saw his 47th-minute header chalked off by another tight VAR offside call, Nagoya’s spirit visibly shattered. Thiago Andrade arrived at the back post in the 55th minute to make it 4-1, effectively killing the contest.

Bench Ruthlessness

With the result beyond doubt, Cerezo’s manager unleashed his bench to turn a heavy defeat into a historic humiliation. The Upset Factor peaked in the dying minutes as the fresh legs simply overwhelmed a broken Nagoya defence. Substitute S. Homma played the role of chief tormentor, threading perfectly weighted passes through a fractured backline. He found fellow replacement S. Sakuragawa, who dispatched two ruthless finishes in the 87th and 89th minutes to complete an astonishing late brace. This 6-1 demolition ends Nagoya's five-match unbeaten run and violently alters the Stakes in the top half of the table, proving the hosts can still dismantle the division’s absolute best.

Key Questions

How did VAR change this match?

VAR denied Nagoya Grampus two crucial goals for offside, entirely killing their momentum and allowing Cerezo to maintain their massive psychological advantage.

What made Yumeki Yokoyama the Man of the Match?

The midfielder dictated the attacking transitions and netted a clinical first-half brace, punishing Nagoya's high defensive line with absolute precision.

What caused the 7-goal thriller?

Nagoya committed massive numbers forward while trailing, leaving huge defensive gaps that Cerezo's ruthless counter-attacks and lethal substitutes expertly exploited.

What is the Futmetrix Score?

The Futmetrix Score is our 0-100 verdict on how entertaining a match is. We look at intensity, balance, stakes, and star quality to tell you if it's worth your time.

Match Statistics

Possession
39%
61%
Cerezo Osaka 39%
Nagoya Grampus 61%
Shots
15
12
Cerezo Osaka 15
Nagoya Grampus 12
Shots on Target
9
4
Cerezo Osaka 9
Nagoya Grampus 4
Passes
314
475
Cerezo Osaka 314
Nagoya Grampus 475
Pass Accuracy
81%
87%
Cerezo Osaka 81%
Nagoya Grampus 87%
Corners
4
3
Cerezo Osaka 4
Nagoya Grampus 3
Fouls
12
5
Cerezo Osaka 12
Nagoya Grampus 5
Yellow Cards
1
0
Cerezo Osaka 1
Nagoya Grampus 0
Red Cards
0
0
Cerezo Osaka 0
Nagoya Grampus 0

Match Events

12' S. Tanaka (M. Shibayama)
22' Y. Yokoyama (M. Nakajima)
Nagoya Grampus 37'
39' Y. Yokoyama
Y. Kimura 42'
HT
Y. Nogami 47'
53' 🔄 H. Okuda A. Ohata
55' Thiago Andrade (N. Ishiwatari)
Y. Yamagishi K. Nagai 🔄 60'
T. Uchida Y. Sato 🔄 60'
67' 🔄 Thiago Andrade S. Sakuragawa
R. Izumi M. Ono 🔄 67'
K. Nakayama H. Koda 🔄 67'
79' 🟨 A. Ohata
82' 🔄 Y. Yokoyama S. Kagawa
82' 🔄 M. Shibayama S. Uejo
82' 🔄 M. Nakajima S. Homma
Y. Nogami S. Mori 🔄 83'
87' S. Sakuragawa (S. Homma)
89' S. Sakuragawa (S. Homma)
FT

Player Cards

Our take on every player in this match

Cerezo Osaka

Goalkeepers
Kosuke Nakamura
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
92
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Defenders
Dion Cools
STORMTROOPER
STORMTROOPER
1
Shots
1
Shots
0
Goals
0
On Target
Rikito Inoue
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
92
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Shinnosuke Hatanaka
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
92
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Hayato Okuda
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
53
Total Mins
53
Entry
Midfielders
Nelson Ishiwatari
SWEEPER
SWEEPER
5
Cleanups
5
Cleanups
4
Interceptions
1
Blocks
Shunta Tanaka
SNIPER
SNIPER
100%
Conversion
100%
Conversion
1
Goals
1
Shots
Masaya Shibayama
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
5
Key Passes
5
Key Passes
1
Assists
31%
Pass Acc
Motohiko Nakajima
PROVIDER
PROVIDER
1
Assists
1
Assists
2
Key Passes
6.3
Rating
Yumeki Yokoyama
HITMAN
HITMAN
2
Goals
2
Goals
2
On Target
9.3
Rating
Forwards
Thiago Andrade
FINISHER
FINISHER
1
Goals
1
Goals
3
Shots
7.5
Rating
BENCH
Jin Hyeon Kim
SPECTATOR
SPECTATOR
0
Saves
0
Saves
0
Conceded
0
Minutes
Ayumu Ohata
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
39
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Kyohei Noborizato
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
0
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Hayato Tanaka
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
0
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Satoki Uejo
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
10
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Shinji Kagawa
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
10
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Shion Homma
SUPER SUB
SUPER SUB
2
Assists
2
Assists
10
Minutes
7.9
Rating
Hinata Kida
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
0
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Solomon Sakuragawa
CLUTCH HERO
CLUTCH HERO
87
Goal Time
87
Goal Time
Goal
Impact
8.5
Rating

Nagoya Grampus

Goalkeepers
Daniel Schmidt
MAGNET
MAGNET
63
Activity
63
Activity
61
Passes
2
Duels
Defenders
Yuki Nogami
STORMTROOPER
STORMTROOPER
2
Shots
2
Shots
0
Goals
1
On Target
Haruya Fujii
MAGNET
MAGNET
89
Activity
89
Activity
80
Passes
9
Duels
Shuhei Tokumoto
DRIBBLER
DRIBBLER
3
Dribbles
3
Dribbles
3
Attempts
100%
Success %
Midfielders
Yuya Asano
STORMTROOPER
STORMTROOPER
2
Shots
2
Shots
0
Goals
1
On Target
Takuya Uchida
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
60
Total Mins
60
Entry
Tomoki Takamine
MAGNET
MAGNET
67
Activity
67
Activity
63
Passes
4
Duels
Katsuhiro Nakayama
PROVOCATEUR
PROVOCATEUR
3
Fouls Won
3
Fouls Won
5
Duels Won
0
Pens Won
Forwards
Ryuji Izumi
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
67
Total Mins
67
Entry
Yudai Kimura
SNIPER
SNIPER
50%
Conversion
50%
Conversion
1
Goals
2
Shots
Yuya Yamagishi
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
60
Total Mins
60
Entry
BENCH
Alexandre Pisano
SPECTATOR
SPECTATOR
0
Saves
0
Saves
0
Conceded
0
Minutes
Yota Sato
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
32
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Kennedy Egbus Mikuni
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
0
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Soichiro Mori
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
9
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Masahito Ono
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
25
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Hidemasa Koda
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
25
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Ryosuke Yamanaka
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
0
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Kensuke Nagai
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
32
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Shungo Sugiura
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
0
Total Mins
Started
Entry

Head to Head

Date Home Score Away Competition Venue
04/04/2026 Nagoya Grampus 3 - 0 Cerezo Osaka J1 League Toyota Stadium
10/04/2025 Nagoya Grampus 2 - 1 Cerezo Osaka J1 League Toyota Stadium
03/08/2025 Cerezo Osaka 1 - 1 Nagoya Grampus J1 League Yodoko Sakura Stadium
06/30/2024 Cerezo Osaka 2 - 1 Nagoya Grampus J1 League Yodoko Sakura Stadium
04/21/2024 Nagoya Grampus 2 - 1 Cerezo Osaka J1 League Toyota Stadium
08/26/2023 Cerezo Osaka 3 - 1 Nagoya Grampus J1 League Yodoko Sakura Stadium
06/03/2023 Nagoya Grampus 3 - 1 Cerezo Osaka J1 League Toyota Stadium
11/05/2022 Cerezo Osaka 0 - 1 Nagoya Grampus J1 League Yodoko Sakura Stadium
07/13/2022 Nagoya Grampus 1 - 2 Cerezo Osaka Emperor Cup Yodoko Sakura Stadium
05/14/2022 Nagoya Grampus 1 - 0 Cerezo Osaka J1 League Toyota Stadium
04/04/2026
J1 League Toyota Stadium
10/04/2025
J1 League Toyota Stadium
03/08/2025
J1 League Yodoko Sakura Stadium
06/30/2024
J1 League Yodoko Sakura Stadium
04/21/2024
J1 League Toyota Stadium
08/26/2023
J1 League Yodoko Sakura Stadium
06/03/2023
J1 League Toyota Stadium
11/05/2022
J1 League Yodoko Sakura Stadium
07/13/2022
Emperor Cup Yodoko Sakura Stadium
05/14/2022
J1 League Toyota Stadium
Cerezo Osaka Win
Nagoya Grampus Win
Draw

League Standings

Pos Team P Pts GF GA GD Form
1 Vissel Kobe 17 30 26 21 +5 DV-varen Nagasaki 2 - 2 (PEN 3-2) Vissel Kobe (17-05-2026)WVissel Kobe 1 - 0 Kyoto Sanga (13-05-2026)LVissel Kobe 0 - 3 Fagiano Okayama (10-05-2026)DSanfrecce Hiroshima 1 - 1 (PEN 4-5) Vissel Kobe (06-05-2026)LGamba Osaka 5 - 0 Vissel Kobe (02-05-2026)
2 Nagoya Grampus 17 29 29 24 +5 LCerezo Osaka 6 - 1 Nagoya Grampus (17-05-2026)WNagoya Grampus 3 - 0 Kyoto Sanga (10-05-2026)WNagoya Grampus 2 - 1 Gamba Osaka (06-05-2026)WV-varen Nagasaki 1 - 2 Nagoya Grampus (03-05-2026)DNagoya Grampus 1 - 1 (PEN 4-5) Fagiano Okayama (29-04-2026)
3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 17 25 25 19 +6 WKyoto Sanga 0 - 4 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (17-05-2026)WGamba Osaka 0 - 1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (10-05-2026)DSanfrecce Hiroshima 1 - 1 (PEN 4-5) Vissel Kobe (06-05-2026)LFagiano Okayama 1 - 0 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (02-05-2026)DAvispa Fukuoka 2 - 2 (PEN 4-3) Sanfrecce Hiroshima (29-04-2026)
4 Cerezo Osaka 17 24 23 17 +6 WCerezo Osaka 6 - 1 Nagoya Grampus (17-05-2026)WCerezo Osaka 3 - 2 V-varen Nagasaki (09-05-2026)DShimizu S-pulse 1 - 1 (PEN 5-3) Cerezo Osaka (06-05-2026)DCerezo Osaka 1 - 1 (PEN 4-3) Avispa Fukuoka (03-05-2026)DVissel Kobe 0 - 0 (PEN 2-4) Cerezo Osaka (29-04-2026)
5 Fagiano Okayama 17 24 22 22 0 WFagiano Okayama 2 - 0 Shimizu S-pulse (17-05-2026)WVissel Kobe 0 - 3 Fagiano Okayama (10-05-2026)LV-varen Nagasaki 2 - 1 Fagiano Okayama (06-05-2026)WFagiano Okayama 1 - 0 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (02-05-2026)DNagoya Grampus 1 - 1 (PEN 4-5) Fagiano Okayama (29-04-2026)
6 Gamba Osaka 17 20 24 21 +3 LGamba Osaka 0 - 1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (10-05-2026)LNagoya Grampus 2 - 1 Gamba Osaka (06-05-2026)WGamba Osaka 5 - 0 Vissel Kobe (02-05-2026)DKyoto Sanga 1 - 1 (PEN 5-4) Gamba Osaka (29-04-2026)DV-varen Nagasaki 1 - 1 (PEN 5-6) Gamba Osaka (25-04-2026)
7 Shimizu S-pulse 17 20 18 19 -1 LFagiano Okayama 2 - 0 Shimizu S-pulse (17-05-2026)DShimizu S-pulse 1 - 1 (PEN 4-3) Avispa Fukuoka (10-05-2026)DShimizu S-pulse 1 - 1 (PEN 5-3) Cerezo Osaka (06-05-2026)WKyoto Sanga 1 - 2 Shimizu S-pulse (02-05-2026)LShimizu S-pulse 1 - 2 V-varen Nagasaki (29-04-2026)
8 V-varen Nagasaki 17 20 20 27 -7 DV-varen Nagasaki 2 - 2 (PEN 3-2) Vissel Kobe (17-05-2026)LCerezo Osaka 3 - 2 V-varen Nagasaki (09-05-2026)WV-varen Nagasaki 2 - 1 Fagiano Okayama (06-05-2026)LV-varen Nagasaki 1 - 2 Nagoya Grampus (03-05-2026)WShimizu S-pulse 1 - 2 V-varen Nagasaki (29-04-2026)
9 Kyoto Sanga 17 17 18 26 -8 LKyoto Sanga 0 - 4 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (17-05-2026)LVissel Kobe 1 - 0 Kyoto Sanga (13-05-2026)LNagoya Grampus 3 - 0 Kyoto Sanga (10-05-2026)DAvispa Fukuoka 1 - 1 (PEN 5-4) Kyoto Sanga (06-05-2026)LKyoto Sanga 1 - 2 Shimizu S-pulse (02-05-2026)
10 Avispa Fukuoka 17 17 17 26 -9 DShimizu S-pulse 1 - 1 (PEN 4-3) Avispa Fukuoka (10-05-2026)DAvispa Fukuoka 1 - 1 (PEN 5-4) Kyoto Sanga (06-05-2026)DCerezo Osaka 1 - 1 (PEN 4-3) Avispa Fukuoka (03-05-2026)DAvispa Fukuoka 2 - 2 (PEN 4-3) Sanfrecce Hiroshima (29-04-2026)LFagiano Okayama 2 - 0 Avispa Fukuoka (25-04-2026)