J1 League Gameweek 2

Kawasaki Frontale 2 - 2 FT Kyoto Sanga

Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium

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

Futmetrix Verdict
63
FT
Sat, Aug 15
日本語
Kawasaki Frontale
2-2
Kyoto Sanga
⚡ Intensity 51
⚖️ Balance 89
🏆 Stakes 10
🎲 Upset 40
A frantic four-goal thriller in Kawasaki.

A Rollercoaster in Kawasaki

Worth Watching Futmetrix Score: 63/100. A breathless 2-2 draw that showcased the very best of J1 League attacking intent, punctuated by a chaotic second-half goal flurry.

Methodical Beginnings

Kawasaki Frontale wasted no time imposing their will at Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium, methodically establishing a rhythm that saw them command 56% possession throughout the afternoon. The hosts pinned their visitors deep, patiently circulating the ball with 480 total passes as they looked for an opening. Their persistence in the final third created a suffocating environment, leading to a barrage of attempts inside the box. The breakthrough finally arrived just before the halftime whistle, rewarding their territorial dominance. L. Romanic found a pocket of space and finished with precision in the 43rd minute. While the hosts headed into the dressing room with a deserved advantage, an underlying Intensity rating suggested the match was far from settled, with Kyoto repeatedly showing flashes on the break.

The Turning Point

The second half completely shredded any sense of predictability as Kyoto Sanga launched a blistering counter-offensive. The dynamic of the match flipped on its head following a brilliant tactical adjustment. The introduction of M. Okugawa right after the interval injected directness into the visitors' play. He provided an immediate spark, setting up S. Fukuda for a crucial equaliser in the 54th minute. Suddenly, the remarkable Balance of the tie shifted entirely toward the away side. Just four minutes later, Fukuda turned from scorer to provider, carving open the recovering defence to tee up Rafael Elias. This stunning three-goal flurry in the space of 15 minutes left the home crowd stunned and demonstrated Kyoto's ruthless edge on the counter.

Rescuing the Draw

Staring down a shock home defeat, the hosts threw caution to the wind and committed numbers forward. Their relentless pressure paid off in the 64th minute when T. Ito threaded a superb delivery into the path of Marcinho, who ruthlessly levelled the score at 2-2. From that moment on, the match became a frantic shootout. A staggering combined 35 shots were registered by full-time, forcing incredible goalkeeper heroics as both stoppers combined for nine crucial saves to keep the scoreline intact. Although neither side managed to find that elusive winning strike, this pulsating draw serves as a stark reminder of the firepower both squads possess. Both teams remain winless early in the campaign, but they proved they can deliver spectacular entertainment.

Key Questions

How did substitute Shinnosuke Fukuda change the game?

He delivered a dominant second-half performance, scoring the 54th-minute equaliser before providing the crucial assist for Rafael Elias just four minutes later.

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
56%
44%
Kawasaki Frontale 56%
Kyoto Sanga 44%
Shots
22
13
Kawasaki Frontale 22
Kyoto Sanga 13
Shots on Target
7
6
Kawasaki Frontale 7
Kyoto Sanga 6
Passes
480
397
Kawasaki Frontale 480
Kyoto Sanga 397
Pass Accuracy
77%
71%
Kawasaki Frontale 77%
Kyoto Sanga 71%
Corners
6
1
Kawasaki Frontale 6
Kyoto Sanga 1
Fouls
9
8
Kawasaki Frontale 9
Kyoto Sanga 8
Yellow Cards
1
2
Kawasaki Frontale 1
Kyoto Sanga 2
Red Cards
0
0
Kawasaki Frontale 0
Kyoto Sanga 0

Match Events

Souza Alex 🟨 9'
Souza Alex R. Kato 🔄 11'
43' L. Romanic
HT
S. Fukuoka S. Yoon 🔄 46'
K. Sato M. Okugawa 🔄 46'
Weverton 🟨 49'
S. Fukuda (M. Okugawa) 54'
Rafael Elias (S. Fukuda) 58'
59' 🔄 S. Miura A. Sasaki
64' Marcinho (T. Ito)
T. Hirato F. Honda 🔄 70'
76' 🔄 Y. Yamamoto S. Kawahara
76' 🔄 T. Ito Y. Ozeki
80' 🔄 R. Yamahara F. Uremovic
80' 🔄 Marcinho T. Miyagi
80' 🟨 Y. Ozeki
Weverton H. Tawiah 🔄 90'+2
FT

Player Cards

Our take on every player in this match

Kawasaki Frontale

Goalkeepers
Svend Brodersen
MAGNET
MAGNET
33
Activity
33
Activity
33
Passes
0
Duels
Defenders
Reon Yamahara
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
1
Key Passes
1
Key Passes
0
Assists
29%
Pass Acc
Pedro Romano
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
1
Key Passes
1
Key Passes
0
Assists
60%
Pass Acc
Hiroto Taniguchi
MAGNET
MAGNET
62
Activity
62
Activity
59
Passes
3
Duels
Sota Miura
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
1
Key Passes
1
Key Passes
0
Assists
13%
Pass Acc
Midfielders
Kento Tachibanada
MAGNET
MAGNET
67
Activity
67
Activity
63
Passes
4
Duels
Yuki Yamamoto
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
1
Key Passes
1
Key Passes
0
Assists
43%
Pass Acc
Tatsuya Ito
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
3
Key Passes
3
Key Passes
1
Assists
21%
Pass Acc
Yasuto Wakizaka
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
3
Key Passes
3
Key Passes
0
Assists
24%
Pass Acc
Marcinho
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
2
Key Passes
2
Key Passes
0
Assists
10%
Pass Acc
Forwards
Lazar Romanić
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
1
Key Passes
1
Key Passes
0
Assists
13%
Pass Acc
BENCH
Louis Yamaguchi
SPECTATOR
SPECTATOR
0
Saves
0
Saves
0
Conceded
0
Minutes
Asahi Sasaki
WALL
WALL
0
Dribbled Past
0
Dribbled Past
2
Tackles
67%
Duel Win %
Filip Uremović
MAGNET
MAGNET
12
Activity
12
Activity
9
Passes
3
Duels
Kazuya Konno
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
0
Total Mins
Started
Entry
So Kawahara
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
1
Key Passes
1
Key Passes
0
Assists
10%
Pass Acc
Yuto Ozeki
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
1
Key Passes
1
Key Passes
0
Assists
1%
Pass Acc
Ryuki Osa
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
0
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Ten Miyagi
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
1
Key Passes
1
Key Passes
0
Assists
3%
Pass Acc
Kyosuke Mochiyama
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
0
Total Mins
Started
Entry

Kyoto Sanga

Goalkeepers
Gakuji Ota
MAGNET
MAGNET
45
Activity
45
Activity
44
Passes
1
Duels
Defenders
Shinnosuke Fukuda
SNIPER
SNIPER
100%
Conversion
100%
Conversion
1
Goals
1
Shots
Weverton
MAGNET
MAGNET
48
Activity
48
Activity
39
Passes
9
Duels
Yoshinori Suzuki
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
1
Key Passes
1
Key Passes
0
Assists
38%
Pass Acc
Kyo Sato
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
1
Key Passes
1
Key Passes
0
Assists
17%
Pass Acc
Midfielders
João Pedro
MAGNET
MAGNET
71
Activity
71
Activity
56
Passes
15
Duels
Shimpei Fukuoka
MAGNET
MAGNET
19
Activity
19
Activity
15
Passes
4
Duels
Taiki Hirato
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
2
Key Passes
2
Key Passes
0
Assists
12%
Pass Acc
Forwards
Alex Souza
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
1
Key Passes
1
Key Passes
0
Assists
0%
Pass Acc
Rafael Elias
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
1
Key Passes
1
Key Passes
0
Assists
17%
Pass Acc
Haruki Arai
MAGNET
MAGNET
26
Activity
26
Activity
18
Passes
8
Duels
BENCH
Kentaro Kakoi
SPECTATOR
SPECTATOR
0
Saves
0
Saves
0
Conceded
0
Minutes
Ren Kato
WALL
WALL
0
Dribbled Past
0
Dribbled Past
1
Tackles
43%
Duel Win %
Hisashi Appiah Tawiah
MAGNET
MAGNET
2
Activity
2
Activity
2
Passes
0
Duels
Sung-jun Yoon
MAGNET
MAGNET
27
Activity
27
Activity
25
Passes
2
Duels
Masaya Okugawa
SUPER SUB
SUPER SUB
1
Assist
1
Assist
51
Minutes
6.2
Rating
Fuchi Honda
MAGNET
MAGNET
18
Activity
18
Activity
14
Passes
4
Duels
Ryuma Nakano
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
0
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Maceió
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
0
Total Mins
Started
Entry
Shun Nagasawa
LATE SHIFT
LATE SHIFT
15
Late Mins
15
Late Mins
0
Total Mins
Started
Entry

Head to Head

Date Home Score Away Competition Venue
10/04/2025 Kyoto Sanga 1 - 1 Kawasaki Frontale J1 League Sanga Stadium by Kyocera
03/01/2025 Kawasaki Frontale 0 - 1 Kyoto Sanga J1 League Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium
11/09/2024 Kyoto Sanga 1 - 1 Kawasaki Frontale J1 League Sanga Stadium by Kyocera
03/09/2024 Kawasaki Frontale 0 - 1 Kyoto Sanga J1 League Uvance Todoroki Stadium by Fujitsu
11/12/2023 Kawasaki Frontale 3 - 3 Kyoto Sanga J1 League Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium
05/03/2023 Kyoto Sanga 0 - 1 Kawasaki Frontale J1 League Sanga Stadium by Kyocera
10/12/2022 Kawasaki Frontale 3 - 1 Kyoto Sanga J1 League Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium
05/29/2022 Kyoto Sanga 1 - 0 Kawasaki Frontale J1 League Sanga Stadium by Kyocera
10/14/2015 Kawasaki Frontale 3 - 0 Kyoto Sanga Emperor Cup Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium
10/04/2025
J1 League Sanga Stadium by Kyocera
03/01/2025
J1 League Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium
11/09/2024
J1 League Sanga Stadium by Kyocera
03/09/2024
J1 League Uvance Todoroki Stadium by Fujitsu
11/12/2023
J1 League Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium
05/03/2023
J1 League Sanga Stadium by Kyocera
10/12/2022
J1 League Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium
05/29/2022
J1 League Sanga Stadium by Kyocera
10/14/2015
Emperor Cup Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium
Kawasaki Frontale Win
Kyoto Sanga Win
Draw

League Standings

Pos Team P Pts GF GA GD Form
1 Kashiwa Reysol 2 6 5 2 +3 WTokyo Verdy 1 - 3 Kashiwa Reysol (14-08-2026)WKashiwa Reysol 2 - 1 Mito Hollyhock (08-08-2026)
2 Gamba Osaka 2 4 5 4 +1 DMito Hollyhock 1 - 1 Gamba Osaka (15-08-2026)WGamba Osaka 4 - 3 Urawa (07-08-2026)
3 Machida Zelvia 1 3 5 1 +4 WFC Tokyo 1 - 5 Machida Zelvia (08-08-2026)
4 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1 3 3 0 +3 WSanfrecce Hiroshima 3 - 0 JEF United Chiba (08-08-2026)
5 Kashima 1 3 4 3 +1 WYokohama F. Marinos 3 - 4 Kashima (07-08-2026)
6 V-varen Nagasaki 1 3 2 1 +1 WV-varen Nagasaki 2 - 1 Kyoto Sanga (09-08-2026)
7 Cerezo Osaka 1 3 2 1 +1 WCerezo Osaka 2 - 1 Fagiano Okayama (08-08-2026)
8 Shimizu S-pulse 1 3 1 0 +1 WNagoya Grampus 0 - 1 Shimizu S-pulse (08-08-2026)
9 Vissel Kobe 1 3 1 0 +1 WAvispa Fukuoka 0 - 1 Vissel Kobe (08-08-2026)
10 Kawasaki Frontale 1 1 1 1 0 DTokyo Verdy 1 - 1 Kawasaki Frontale (09-08-2026)
11 Mito Hollyhock 2 1 2 3 -1 DMito Hollyhock 1 - 1 Gamba Osaka (15-08-2026)LKashiwa Reysol 2 - 1 Mito Hollyhock (08-08-2026)
12 Tokyo Verdy 2 1 2 4 -2 LTokyo Verdy 1 - 3 Kashiwa Reysol (14-08-2026)DTokyo Verdy 1 - 1 Kawasaki Frontale (09-08-2026)
13 Urawa 1 0 3 4 -1 LGamba Osaka 4 - 3 Urawa (07-08-2026)
14 Yokohama F. Marinos 1 0 3 4 -1 LYokohama F. Marinos 3 - 4 Kashima (07-08-2026)
15 Kyoto Sanga 1 0 1 2 -1 LV-varen Nagasaki 2 - 1 Kyoto Sanga (09-08-2026)
16 Fagiano Okayama 1 0 1 2 -1 LCerezo Osaka 2 - 1 Fagiano Okayama (08-08-2026)
17 Nagoya Grampus 1 0 0 1 -1 LNagoya Grampus 0 - 1 Shimizu S-pulse (08-08-2026)
18 Avispa Fukuoka 1 0 0 1 -1 LAvispa Fukuoka 0 - 1 Vissel Kobe (08-08-2026)
19 JEF United Chiba 1 0 0 3 -3 LSanfrecce Hiroshima 3 - 0 JEF United Chiba (08-08-2026)
20 FC Tokyo 1 0 1 5 -4 LFC Tokyo 1 - 5 Machida Zelvia (08-08-2026)