KASHIMA, Ibaraki Pref. — Cerezo Osaka denied Kashima Antlers top spot in the J. League table and leapfrogged the defending champion into second place for good measure with a 1-0 win on Saturday.
Antlers would have overtaken idle league-leader Nagoya Grampus with a win at Kashima Stadium, but instead a 55th-minute goal by Takashi Inui made sure it was Cerezo who ended the day moving up three places from fifth.
Inui's goal capped a fine team performance from last season's J2 runnerup, which has thrived over the summer despite losing star player Shinji Kagawa to Borussia Dortmund after the World Cup.
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