On October 22, Beijing time, the 2022 Japan League Cup final featured a bizarre comeback. Sanfrecce Hiroshima scored two goals in extra time to reverse Sakura Osaka 2-1 and win the first League Cup title in team history. Sakura fans at home were momentarily silent.
Sakura Osaka opened the scoring in the 52nd minute. Sanfrecce Hiroshima's captain, Sho Sasaki, made a mistake in returning a pass to the back of the net, and Rikuji Kato broke through the keeper before sending the ball into the empty net from a narrow angle.
Osaka Cereals center back Jonic was shown a red card in the 79th minute. Yonich punched Ben Khalifa in the face during the confrontation and the referee first showed a yellow card and then changed it to a red card after seeing VAR.
In injury time, substitute Soteru became the savior of Sanfrecce Hiroshima. In the 96th minute, Cerezo Osaka defender Koji Torikai "hit" the ball from a corner kick defense.
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", Soterou sent the penalty kick into the middle of the net to make it a 1-1 tie.
Soteru scored the winning goal for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the 101st minute. Makoto Manda's corner kick from the right side was headed in by Soteru from the center of the box. Soteru's double in extra time gave Sanfrecce the first League Cup trophy in their history.
