The Urawa Reds grabbed sole possession of first place in the J. League with a 1-0 victory over Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Saturday.
New Japan national team manager Javier Aguirre attended his first J. League match at Saitama Stadium, where captain Yuki Abe scored the lone goal in the opening half for Urawa, which improved to 40 points from 20 games for a one-point lead over Kawasaki Frontale.
Frontale edged Cerezo Osaka in a 5-4 goalfest at home. Sanfrecce fell 10 points off the pace after dropping its second from the last three.