Shun Nagasawa grabbed a hat-trick against his former club as bottom side Vegalta Sendai ended a 17-game winless run with a stunning 4-0 win away against second-place Gamba Osaka in the J. League first-division on Saturday.
In-form Gamba entered on a 12-game unbeaten run, during which they had scored in every game while not conceding more than one goal in any match.
"I'm relieved more than anything, we've had miserable outings so it was good. Things have gone a bit too well (with the hat-trick) but I wanted to offer something positive for the team," said Nagasawa, who spent three years at Gamba from the summer of 2015.