Kensuke Nagai struck the 82nd-minute winner as Nagoya Grampus ended Cerezo Osaka's eight-game unbeaten start to the J-League first-division season with a 2-1 home win on Sunday.
J1 debutant Machida Zelvia return to the top of the table on 19 points after beating FC Tokyo 2-1 away in their capital derby, moving a point above Cerezo. Nagoya, unbeaten in their last six games, climb to fifth on 16 points.
Cerezo dominated the first half. Their best chance fell to Kakeru Funaki in the 13th minute, but the defender's header off a corner was tipped onto the bar by Nagoya keeper Mitch Langerak.
A dubious decision denied Nagoya a certain scoring chance in the 27th minute when speedster Nagai latched on to a pass down the right and reached the ball ahead of outrushing Cerezo keeper Kim Jin Hyeon, getting a clear run at the empty goal. The assistant referee quickly raised his flag for offside, but a replay showed otherwise.
After the hour mark, Cerezo's former Borussia Dortmund star Shinji Kagawa made his league return after four games out, but Nagoya took the 65th-minute lead from a corner. Ryuji Izumi controlled the ball on his chest at the far post and shot powerfully at Kim, with Kennedy Egbus Mikuni firing the rebound high into the net.
Having conceded the opener for the first time this season, Cerezo needed just two minutes to level as Langerak's wayward pass near his goal allowed Cerezo winger Lucas Fernandes to intercept the ball. A low ball into the middle was slid home by Mikuni, this time at the wrong end.
A resilient Nagoya grabbed the winner as substitute forward Patric headed a free-kick into the box, where Nagai sweetly struck the bouncing ball in the air to the left bottom corner. Cerezo had a chance to level again three minutes later with Kagawa showing superb touch outside the box, but Leo Ceara could only drag his shot wide.
"We gained composure in the second half but Cerezo had the ball for a long period and showed why they were leading the league, and our players coped well," Nagoya manager Kenta Hasegawa said.
