Episode 537 - J1 Matchday 30

J1 returned with a bang after the international break, and on our new episode Jonny and Ben round up all the action from a drama-filled weekend.

We begin at the top with the pulsating draw between Kashima and Hiroshima on Saturday night, a result that allowed Machida to return to the summit after they claimed a terrific away win over Fukuoka, with Kobe keeping pace after cruising past Cerezo Osaka on Friday night, though Gamba Osaka's title hopes were dealt a major blow as Maciej Skorza returned to the Urawa dugout and led Reds to a win at the Suita City Stadium (to 40:10).

Next we shift our attention to the relegation dogfight, with Kyoto continuing their excellent recent form to maintain their gap above the bottom three, though Tosu and Sapporo both lost, to further dent their faint hopes of survival. Iwata stunned Kashiwa to move within a point of safety behind Shonan, who were never at the races in their loss at Niigata.

We finish our Matchday 30 roundup at the National stadium (to 1:20:10), then wrap up the episode with a look at upcoming ACL and domestic fixtures, including an intriguing-looking J1 Matchday 31.

You can get tickets for our live show as part of the Yokohama Football Film Festival here, we'd love to see you there on October 12th!