The Kashima Antlers rebounded from a shock first defeat in Group E to brush aside Brisbane Roar 3-0 at home in the Asian Champions League on Tuesday night.
Kashima was stunned 2-1 away to Thailand's Muangthong United two weeks ago, but goals from Yuma Suzuki, Naomichi Ueda and Yasushi Endo in cold and wet conditions on the Ibaraki Prefecture coast provided the perfect response.
The result put Kashima on top of the group with six points from three games. Brisbane has just one. Muangthong has five points after drawing 0-0 with Ulsan Hyundai, who sit third in the group on four points.