Two-time World Cup forward Atsushi Yanagisawa opened his 2013 account at the perfect time as Vegalta Sendai recorded their first-ever win in the Asian Champions League with a 1-0 victory over FC Seoul on Wednesday.
Yanagisawa scored shortly after the quarter-hour in his first start of the season to help ACL debutants Sendai hand Group E leader Seoul its first defeat of the competition, and exact revenge for last week's 2-1 defeat in the South Korean capital.
Makoto Teguramori's men now have five points from four games, two points behind Seoul. Their next match is set for April 24 at Thailand's Buriram United.