The high-flying Urawa Reds moved within touching distance of their first ever J. League title with a 2-0 win over relegation-haunted Cerezo Osaka in the first division on Saturday.
Tatsuya Tanaka drove home to put Urawa in front after 14 minutes and league-leading scorer Emerson bagged his 23rd goal of the season midway through the second half to extend the Reds' lead at the top, for 24 hours at least, to eight points.
With four games of the second stage remaining, Urawa, which defends its Nabisco Cup title in next week's final, leads Gamba Osaka and JEF United Ichihara, who meet in Chiba Prefecture on Sunday in a match both sides need to win to stay in the title race.
Defeat left Cerezo rooted to the foot of the table and its misery was compounded after star striker Yoshito Okubo was sent off 13 minutes from time.