With only two matches remaining in the J-League season another round of upsets tightened up the race even more and left you wondering if anyone really wants to win the championship.In possibly the biggest surprise of the weekend, table leaders Kashima Antlers were held to a scoreless draw by relegation threatened Albirex Niigata. It is a shocking result that could cost Oswaldo de Oliveira's club the title and now leaves now room for mistakes against Ōita in their next match. Lucky for the Antlers they weren't the only club unable to stay focused on the title as the top of the table was full of clubs gasping into the final matches.
Elsewhere Oita Trinita title efforts took a significant turn for the worse as once again Alex Miller's JEF United Ichihara-Chiba were the spoiler holding Ōita off and the match ended in the nil draw. Within the theme of shocking conclusions, Omiya Ardija staring at the face of relegation, defeated Kawasaki Frontale 2-1 as Klemen Lavrič scored with twelve minutes remaining. The stunning upset cost Frontale a share of first place and forces them into a must-win situation against Gamba in their next match. Not to be undone in dropping title aspirations and possibly the biggest disappointment(choke) of the weekend, Nagoya Grampus fell to Kashiwa Reysol 2-1 as Reysol scored twice in the final ten minutes. Grampus controlled the match until the eighty minute mark with Minoru Suganuma scored to level the match only to be followed Popo finding the winner two minutes later. Grampus tried to find the equalizer but their efforts were futile.
At Sapporo Stadium, finally one club emerged that seems to want to win the championship. After the Red Diamonds gave-up an opening goal to relegation condemned Consadole Sapporo, goals from Blue Samurai Tatsuya Tanaka a minute before the half-hour mark and Edmilson ten minutes after the break gave them the 2-1 victory. With the three-points the Reds are only one point behind Kashima with matches against Shimizu S-Pulse and Gamba Osaka in the final weeks. Considering the final weekend, the Reds will be looking for revenge against Gamba as well as the championship.
FC Tokyo continued its charge with 3-1 victory over Gamba Osaka who seem to be preoccupied with the Champions League title. With the match level at the break, Naohiro Ishikawa gave the Gas Men the lead at the re-start with Sōta Hirayama doubling the margin three minutes past the hour.
Elsewhere in the J-League:
Yokohama F. Marinos- 1
Kyoto Purple Sanga- 3
Gamba Osaka- 1
FC Tokyo- 3
Jubilo Iwata- 1
Shimizu S-Pulse- 0
Tokyo Verdy 1969- 0
Vissel Kobe- 2
| J-League week 31 | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA | P |
| Kashima Antlers 鹿島アントラーズ | 31 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 53 | 30 | 54 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds 浦和レッズ | 31 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 48 | 33 | 53 |
| Nagoya Grampus 名古屋グランパス | 31 | 15 | 7 | 9 | 42 | 32 | 52 |
| Oita Trinita 大分トリニータ | 31 | 15 | 7 | 9 | 31 | 23 | 52 |
| Kawasaki Frontale 川崎フロンターレ | 31 | 15 | 6 | 10 | 55 | 42 | 51 |
| FC Tokyo ＦＣ東京 | 31 | 15 | 6 | 10 | 46 | 41 | 51 |
| Gamba Osaka ガンバ大阪 | 31 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 43 | 42 | 47 |
| Vissel Kobe ヴィッセル神戸 | 31 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 38 | 31 | 46 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse 清水エスパルス | 31 | 13 | 7 | 11 | 42 | 38 | 46 |
| Kashiwa Reysol 柏レイソル | 31 | 12 | 6 | 13 | 43 | 40 | 42 |
| Kyoto Purple Sanga 京都サンガF.C. | 31 | 11 | 7 | 13 | 33 | 39 | 40 |
| Yokohama F Marinos 横浜Ｆ・マリノス | 31 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 32 | 31 | 39 |
| Omiya Ardija 大宮アルディージャ | 31 | 11 | 5 | 15 | 32 | 42 | 38 |
| Albirex Niigata アルビレックス新潟 | 31 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 27 | 41 | 38 |
| Jubilo Iwata ジュビロ磐田 | 31 | 10 | 6 | 15 | 37 | 43 | 36 |
| Tokyo Verdy 1969 東京ヴェルディ | 31 | 10 | 6 | 15 | 37 | 45 | 36 |
| JEF United Ichihara-Chiba ジェフユナイテッド千葉 | 31 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 30 | 45 | 35 |
| Consadole Sapporo コンサドーレ札幌 | 31 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 34 | 65 | 17 |
