Yokohama F Marinos all but guaranteed their first J-League championship since 2004 on Saturday, beating Kawasaki Frontale 4-1 as title rivals FC Tokyo stumbled to a 1-1 draw with Urawa Reds.

After thrashing back-to-back champions Frontale, the league leaders will take a three-point advantage and seven-goal lead in goal difference into their showdown with second-place FC Tokyo in the ultimate round of the season next Saturday.

(Teruhito Nakagawa of Yokohama F Marinos)

To claim their maiden J1 crown, FC Tokyo will need to beat Marinos by at least four goals, in what would be their biggest winning margin of the season, on the road at Nissan Stadium.

Marinos sparkplug Teruhito Nakagawa gave the visitors the early lead at Todoroki Stadium before Brazilian striker Erik struck back-to-back goals in the second half. Leandro Damiao netted late for Frontale, but Keita Endo stretched the margin back to three goals with a minute left.

Despite his team's virtually unassailable lead in the title race, Marinos manager Ange Postecoglou said "nothing changes" next week against FC Tokyo, who shared the points at Ajinomoto Stadium after Kyosuke Tagawa canceled out Quenten Martinus' first-half opener.

"We play at home next week and we want to play well, and we want to win," said Postecoglou, who lauded his players for dismantling a fourth-place Kawasaki side only recently eliminated from the title race.

"It was a fantastic game. Obviously we knew it was a big game for us and coming here to Kawasaki is not easy. So to score four goals and play the way we did, I was very proud of the players."

Nakagawa put Marinos ahead in the eighth minute, tapping in from directly in front following a cross from Mateus, who created the opportunity with a storming run down the left side.

Erik struck on a superbly executed counterattack just four minutes into the second half, scoring from the left of the box after Ken Matsubara played him into the area with a pinpoint through ball.

The Brazilian netted his second as Marinos once again demonstrated their counterattacking prowess in the 69th minute. Having won possession, Nakagawa exchanged passes with Yuki Otsu before making a break down the right and crossing to Erik, who beat keeper Jung Sung Ryong with his right boot at the near post.

The hosts kept up the fight despite the big deficit, and Damiao struck back in the 74th minute, heading in off a cross by substitute Tatsuya Hasegawa.

Erik capped off a virtuoso performance by winning the ball off Shogo Taniguchi inside Frontale's half and running into a one-on-one with Jung before laying off for Endo to score into an open net.

"The players are playing well. They're playing with confidence, they're enjoying their football and they're working hard and getting the rewards," said Postecoglou.

Chasing their first-ever J1 title, FC Tokyo failed to keep pace with Marinos despite dominating the visiting Reds 18-7 in the shot count. They fell behind late in the opening half when Martinus tapped in from close range after goalkeeper Akihiro Hayashi parried away a Ryosuke Yamanaka thunderbolt.

Their task was made more difficult after losing top scorer Diego Oliveira to injury before halftime. Tagawa equalized following a scramble inside the area in the 69th minute, blasting home from close range after the Reds defense failed to clear.

By sharing the points, 13th-place Urawa virtually assured themselves a spot in the J1, but the Asian Champions League finalists could still finish in the relegation playoff spot.

Elsewhere in the first division, Kashima Antlers fell 3-1 to visiting Vissel Kobe. Third-place Antlers came into the match clinging to slim title hopes, but the result became moot due to Marinos' victory.

At the other end of the table, Matsumoto Yamaga will return to J2 next season following a 4-1 loss to Gamba Osaka.

They will be joined by Jubilo Iwata, who beat Nagoya Grampus 2-1 but can no longer climb out of the bottom two by virtue of 16th-place Shonan Bellmare's 1-0 win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Fifteenth-place Shimizu S-Pulse remain in danger of a relegation playoff following a 2-1 loss to Cerezo Osaka, as do 14th-place Sagan Tosu, who fell 2-0 to Consadole Sapporo.

Vegalta Sendai ensured they can finish no worse than 11th with a 2-0 win against visiting Oita Trinita.