There is a well-worn tradition in the J. League of championship contenders making their title run much more difficult than it needs to be.
Kawasaki Frontale seemed content to follow in that tradition on Saturday, falling two goals behind before staging an explosive comeback in a 5-3 home win over Vissel Kobe.
The defending champion came into the encounter at Todoroki Stadium knowing that a win would open up a four-point lead on top of the first-division table after second-place Sanfrecce Hiroshima lost 2-0 to Shimizu S-Pulse earlier in the day.