A brace by Daiju Sasaki and a Haruya Ide header shortly before halftime gave Vissel Kobe a commanding 3-1 win over Kashima Antlers on Saturday, as the team continued its seemingly unassailable march towards its first-ever J. League first-division title.

Sasaki put Kobe, playing a “home” game at Tokyo’s National Stadium that nevertheless drew a near-capacity crowd, put the team ahead with his 16th-minute header, before all but sealing the result with a tight-angled volley in the 83rd minute that threaded the needle between Antlers goalkeeper Tomoki Hayakawa’s outstretched hands and the crossbar.

“We all fought and ran together to earn this result,” Sasaki said. “Even if I felt like I was dying, even if my leg was hurting, I wanted to do whatever I could for this win.”

The win kept Vissel four points ahead of reigning champions Yokohama F. Marinos, who piled on three late goals in a 4-1 win over struggling Consadole Sapporo — but are running out of time to catch up in the 34-round season.

“I’m not concerned about things like that,” Vissel manager Takayuki Yoshida said when asked about his team’s 61 points. “Marinos won today, and it’s still a tight race. It’s not about what other teams do, it’s about doing what we do in each game.

“We only have a few games left, and everyone is focused.”

Kobe striker Yuya Osako, who made his name at Antlers before a fruitful European career, echoed his manager's sentiment,

"We're focused on each game," the former Samurai Blue star said. "We'll be disappointed if we lose what's in front of us."

If there had to be a “last boss” for Vissel in this final stretch, there could be few partners more suitable than eight-time champion Kashima, a team that knows a thing or two about improbable title runs.

Kashima, which in 2007 erased a 10-point deficit with Urawa Reds to lift the trophy and launch what became a three-peat, was among a handful of teams with long — but not impossible — odds of catching up to Kobe before the J1’s Dec. 3 swansong.

Now those hopes are dashed, and Kashima — which has enjoyed a surprisingly strong campaign after some early struggles under manager Daiki Iwamasa — will all but likely be focused on the battle for third place and a spot in the 2024-25 Asian Champions League 2.

“I think we recognize we’ve been giving up a lot of goals like that this season,” Iwamasa said of the two headers his team surrendered in the first half. “Kobe were clever, they were strong. ... I think it was a test of ability and we lost.”

Vissel offered few goal-scoring chances to Antlers in the first half before midfielder Sasaki knocked in Ide’s cross.

Ide, who joined Vissel from Tokyo Verdy last winter after spending the majority of his career in the J2, notched his first goal for the team shortly before halftime with his own header.

As Antlers attempted to reduce the deficit in the second half, former Japan center back Naomichi Ueda’s 58th-minute header was deftly saved by Kobe goalkeeper Daiya Maekawa, who recently had to decline a national team call-up due to injury.

“He still has some pain, but he said he was ready and rejoined us the other day,” Yoshida said, adding that star forward Yoshinori Muto was also playing below 100% fitness.

Kobe saw a superb chance at its third goal denied when Gotoku Sakai’s long-distance blast following Takahiro Ogihara’s corner kick was flagged offside.

Yuma Suzuki’s right-footed effort from two meters inside the penalty box went over the crossbar in the 75th minute. His 78th-minute followup was on target but went directly to Maekawa.

Antlers midfielder Yuta Matsumura spoiled Kobe’s clean sheet in second-half stoppage time, but it was not enough to prevent a rain of boos from visiting supporters as Kashima players went behind the goal for their post-game greeting.

Until the two late goals from Sasaki and Matsumura, the game seemed on track to finish with an identical result to the 2019 Emperor's Cup final, when Vissel beat Kashima at the same stadium to claim its first major title.

While that squad featured the super-trio of Andres Iniesta, Lukas Podolski and David Villa, Kobe's lone European squad member on Saturday — former Manchester United and Chelsea star Juan Mata — watched comfortably from the bench, having made just one J1 appearance since joining Vissel as a free agent in early September.

In the day's other results, relegation-threatened Yokohama FC beat FC Tokyo 1-0, only to remain in last place after Shonan Bellmare earned a 1-0 road win at Kyoto Sanga.

Nagoya Grampus beat Gamba Osaka 1-0 to stay in mathematical contention for the title, while Albirex Niigata and Sagan Tosu shared spoils in a 1-1 draw.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Cerezo Osaka finished scoreless in the penultimate J1 game to be played at Edion Stadium before Sanfrecce moves into Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima next season.