Diego Forlan fails to find the net on debut for Cerezo Osaka

The J-League debut of Uruguay striker Diego Forlan fell flat as Cerezo Osaka lost 1-0 to defending champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima in Saturday’s season opener.

Diego Forlan, centre, was substituted after 81 minutes of his J-League debut for Cerezo Osaka in the 1-0 defeat to Sanfrecce Hiroshima. AP Photo

TOKYO // The J-League debut of Uruguay striker Diego Forlan fell flat as Cerezo Osaka lost 1-0 to defending champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima in yesterday’s season opener.

Former Manchester United and Atletico Madrid forward Forlan sparked a fresh buzz of excitement in the increasingly dowdy J-League when he joined Cerezo from Brazilian side Internacional in January in an estimated US$5.9 million (Dh21.7m) deal.

The 34-year-old frontman failed to make an immediate impact alongside Japan international Yoichiro Kakitani at a packed-out Nagai Stadium and left the field in the 81st minute after Tsukasa Shiotani had given Sanfrecce the lead 10 minutes earlier.

“It was Forlan and Kakitani’s first time playing together, so you can’t expect too much,” said Cerezo manager Ranko Popovic.

“It’s not only about Forlan and Kakitani. As a team we need to score goals.”

Forlan had the best chance of an uneventful first half, shooting over the bar from distance after exchanging passes with Kakitani.

The Uruguayan then blasted a second-half free kick into the wall after the referee had blown for a foul on Kakitani instead of allowing Ariajasuru Hasegawa to score from the advantage.

Shiotani volleyed home a Naoki Ishihara cross in the 71st minute to break the deadlock, before Forlan made way for substitute Kenyu Sugimoto.

“This is a great start for us,” said Sanfrecce midfielder Toshihiro Aoyama, whose team are looking to win their third-straight league title.

“We weren’t paying too much attention to keeping Forlan and Kakitani quiet, but we didn’t let Cerezo play to their strengths and we kept our discipline well.”

Elsewhere in the J-League, Sagan Tosu crushed newly promoted Tokushima Vortis 5-0, while Kashima Antlers also hit the goal trail with a 4-0 win over Ventforet Kofu.

Slovenian international Milivoje Novakovic scored the winner as Shimizu S-Pulse came from behind to beat Nagoya Grampus 3-2, and substitute Roger Gaucho scored in the 89th minute to give Albirex Niigata a 2-1 win over Vegalta Sendai.