Former Asian champion Gamba Osaka climbed out of the drop zone with a 3-1 victory over in-form Shimizu S-Pulse in the J.League on Sunday.
Goals from Takuya Takei, Rafinha and Akihiro Sato sent Masanobu Matsunami's men to their second straight win as Gamba improved to seven points, two points clear of 16th place.
Shimizu's win streak came to an end at three games. Afshin Ghotbi's side is on 12 points, seven points off the pace of league-leading Vegalta Sendai.