Needing only to avoid losing by four goals, Yokohama F Marinos did everything but play defensively.
Marinos captured their first J.League championship in 15 seasons and fourth overall by storming to a one-sided 3-0 win over second-place FC Tokyo before a league-record crowd at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama on Saturday.
"We played fantastic football and the players deserved this," coach Ange Postecoglou said in a televised post-game interview. "They've been playing hard all year. It's a special day and I want to celebrate."
Bunmathan Theerathon, Erik and Keita Endo all scored for Marinos, which dominated ball possession throughout the match before the crowd of 63,854, even after losing their goalkeeper 19 minutes into the second half due to a red card.
Marinos, who last won the league title in 2004, went into the the season finale with 67 points, three ahead of FC Tokyo, and with a three-goal advantage in goal difference.
"Everyone played hard for this win," team captain Takuya Kida said. "Including Marinos supporters, it was a win that we got as a whole team."
Thai defender Theerathon started the scoring with a mid-range shot in the 26th minute. The shot apparently deflected off Tokyo midfielder Keigo Higashi's leg before sailing over keeper Akihiro Hayashi and into the net.
That came three minutes after FC Tokyo missed its first big chance. Forward Kensuke Nagai faced keeper Park Ilgyu one-on-one, but Park got his hand on Nagai's point-blank shot and defender Shinnosuke Hatanaka cleared the ball away.
On 38 minutes, Nagai blew another big chance. He received a clean pass from Yojiro Takahagi, but errantly sent his shot well over the bar.
In the 44th minute, Brazilian Erik fought off several defenders before rifling a mid-range shot into the lower left corner to send Marinos into the break with a 2-0 lead.
Midway through the second half, Park was flagged for a foul on Nagai just outside of the penalty area that prevented an easy shot on goal but resulted in his ejection.
But FC Tokyo could not take advantage, and instead, Endo scored the third goal for Yokohama. The midfielder dribbled down the left side, then evaded the final defender one-on-one before launching a low shot.
One of the original J.League teams, Marinos won their first championship in 1995 as Yokohama Marinos. After merging with Yokohama Flugels in 1999, the Yokohama F Marinos won back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004.
Marinos forwards Marcos Junior and Teruhito Nakagawa tied as the leading scorers with 15 goals each.
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