Yoshinori Muto hit a brace against his boyhood club as leader Vissel Kobe hung on to defeat FC Tokyo 3-2 at home in the J. League first division on Saturday.
In Kobe's first match since the announcement of the imminent departure of Spanish icon Andres Iniesta, who remained on the bench at Noevir Stadium, Muto inflicted the damage against the club where he played youth soccer and made his professional debut.
Having dominated until the break, Takayuki Yoshida's side let Tokyo back into the game in a second half in which the hosts did not manage a shot but still did enough to pick up the win and move to 33 points.