Olunga's Kashiwa Reysol fall in Levain Cup final
FC Tokyo’s Leandro (left) shoots to score the opening goal during their 2020 Levain Cup final match against Kashiwa Reysol at Japan National Stadium on January 4, 2021.
What you need to know:
- There will be a break of close to eight weeks before the 2021 J1 League season kicks off on February 26.
- The new season will have 20 teams and not the usual 18. No team was relegated from the 2020 J1 League, but four will go down at the end of next season to retain the 18-team format.
Kenyan international Michael Olunga ended the 2020 Japan Professional Football League season on a disappointing note as his Kashiwa Reysol side lost 2-1 to FC Tokyo in the Levain Cup final at Japan National Stadium on Monday.
Free-scoring Olunga was involved in Reyol’s equaliser scored just before halftime. He headed a corner-kick from Brazilian Cristiano, which was cleared poorly off the line by the goalkeeper before Yusuke Segawa tucked into the net.
The 26-year-old, who bagged the Golden Boot and Player of the Year awards, alongside been voted Man-of-the-Match six times in 2020, had three chances before the equaliser, including two headers which went wide.
Playmaker Ataru Esaka as well as Segawa also had chances in the first half. South Korean goalkeeper Seung-Gyu Kim also made a great save towards the end of the first half.
The first chance of the game fell to Tokyo’s Leandro in the early minutes, but the Brazilian forward kicked wide before redeeming himself in the 16th minute as he gave his side the lead with a well taken shot after cutting in from the left.
After dominating and wasting several chances in the second half, Kashiwa was punished by Adailton in the 74th minute after a poor clearance on the edge of the box.
The Brazilian, who had scored Tokyo’s consolation in their 3-1 loss when these two sides last met in the league on October 28, had come on as a substitute for Keigo Higashi in the 66th minute. Kashiwa fought for an equalising goal, but it was all in vain.
FC Tokyo pocketed Sh79.2 million alongside lifting the trophy, while Reysol settled for Sh26.4 million.
Leandro was voted the Most Valuable Player in this cup competition and took home Sh1 million.
With the Levain Cup final done, the 2020 Japan Professional Football League season is now officially over.
The Levain Cup final was postponed from November 7 to January 4 due to the overcrowded schedule occasioned by the coronavirus outbreak.
There will be a break of close to eight weeks before the 2021 J1 League season kicks off on February 26.
The new season will have 20 teams and not the usual 18. No team was relegated from the 2020 J1 League, but four will go down at the end of next season to retain the 18-team format.
Due to the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics, now slated for July 23 to August 8 this year, J1 League says that the schedule will be so crowded that there will be no spare days until match-day 38.
