Urawa Reds downed relegation-threatened Nagoya Grampus 2-0 on Saturday in the J. League and moved top of the second-stage standings with their seventh win in eight games.

Yuki Muto's low effort opened the scoring a minute before intermission and Zlatan Ljubijankic added the second three minutes from time at Toyota Stadium, with Nagoya's winless run reaching 16 games under new coach and general manager Takafumi Ogura.

"We knew Nagoya will have high motivation coming into the game. My players took control of the game and scored a goal," Urawa manager Mihailo Petrovic said. "I told them they'll come pressing from the front after the break so let them have the ball a bit and strike on the counter. We were able to remain patient."