Skeptics may dismiss Vegalta Sendai's position at the top of the J. League as a fad waiting to blow over, but each passing weekend brings fresh evidence that the Tohoku side intends to stick around for good.
Vegalta gave their most emphatic display of the season with a 4-0 demolition of FC Tokyo on Saturday, opening up a five-point gap at the top after seven games and preserving their unbeaten record in the process. Tokyo managed to contain Makoto Teguramori's men until Shingo Akamine broke the deadlock in first-half injury time, but the second period was a different story as Vegalta's power, pace and precision swept the visitors away.
Kunimitsu Sekiguchi and Yoshiaki Ota both found the net for their third and fourth goals of the campaign, respectively, before defender Jiro Kamata notched Sendai's fourth in the 87th minute. Vegalta have now scored six more goals than any other team in the division, and with Sekiguchi, Akamine, Ota and Wilson in such rampant form, last season's problems up front seem like a distant memory.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.