Midfield maestro Andres Iniesta put on a playmaking master class Sunday and David Villa scored for the second straight game as Vissel Kobe came from behind in a 3-1 win over Vegalta Sendai in the J. League first division.
Villa, the third big-name European star to join the Kobe club in the past three seasons, broke a 1-1 deadlock just seconds into the second half with a goal set up by his former Spain teammate Iniesta.
The hosts took the lead at Yurtec Stadium in the 12th minute when Mozambican Simao Mate headed in a corner, but found it hard to get the ball past midfield and struggled to keep pace with Vissel's counterattacks.