Kawasaki Frontale compounded the Urawa Reds' woes with a 2-0 defeat in the J. League on Tuesday, netting a goal in each half through Yasuto Wakizaka and late substitute Yu Kobayashi.
With manager Tsuyoshi Otsuki serving a suspension from the stands, the struggling Reds were outplayed at Saitama Stadium by a Frontale side looking to keep alive its slim hopes of a third straight league title.
Having taken just one point from their past four matches, the Reds are in the unusual position of contending for their second Asian Champions League trophy in three seasons while fighting to avoid relegation to J2.