The new J. League season is just two weeks old, but already there is a familiar look about the top of the table.
Of the four teams that have taken maximum points from their opening two games, three finished in the top five last year. Champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima, runnerup Yokohama F. Marinos and fifth-place Kashima Antlers have picked up from where they left off last season, with surprise package Sagan Tosu joining their more celebrated colleagues on six points.
For the rest of the league, Sanfrecce's two wins should sound an ominous warning shot. The champions could hardly have had a more difficult opening-day assignment than an away trip to a Cerezo Osaka side pumped up by Diego Forlan's debut, but Sanfrecce handled the occasion with the minimum of fuss to run out 1-0 winners.