Cerezo Osaka kept alive their hopes of staying in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday with the first win of their campaign in their third group match, beating Buriram United of Thailand 4-0 at home.
　Yokohama Marinos, however, remained winless after losing 1-0 to Melbourne Victory in Australia.
　Japan striker Kakitani Yoichiro struck the opener for Cerezo and young attacker Minamino Takumi struck twice before Uruguay forward Diego Forlan found the target for the south Osaka team.
　With the win, Cerezo improved to four points and a 1-1-1 win-draw-loss record in Group E. They are one point behind leaders Shandong Luneng of China and Pohang Steelers of Korea Republic. Shandong lead on goal difference following a 2-2 draw with Pohang in Korea. Buriram are fourth.
　Ranko Popovic’s side, who needed a win to keep their hopes alive in the Asian competition, started well when Kakitani converted a Sakemoto Noriyuki cross from close range in the fourth minute.
　Cerezo had a couple of good opportunities to widen the lead in the first quarter of the game but couldn’t find the target. Minamino helped the hosts widen their lead in the 34th minute with some good skills in the box.
　Buriram came close around the 73rd minute when Spanish attacker Carmelo Gonzalez, who had made some good efforts in the first half, got a long feed and hit a shot from inside the box. But his attempt was denied by Cerezo goalkeeper Kim Jin Hyeon. Ten minutes later, substitute Anawin Juleen also came close with a similar effort but his shot went wide.
　Cerezo made it 3-0 in the 82nd minute when Minamino cut inside the box and struck from close range.
　The 11,256 crowd produced their biggest cheer when Forlan finally found the target for Cerezo three minutes into additional time.
　Forlan latched on to a long feed and cut inside the box as he held off two markers. The Uruguay forward couldn’t get a shot off initially but quickly recovered and found the top right corner of the goal. It was his first goal for Cerezo in his sixth appearance after joining the J. League side in February.
　Cerezo manager Popovic said, “We got the result we wanted and I am satisfied with that. We scored more than I had expected, and the opener early in the game was very significant. We are improving our performance and the quality of our game in every match. I hope we can put on a better performance in our next game.”
　Forlan said, “It took me a while before scoring a goal but I didn’t play the full amount of time in the previous matches, and I need to play to get to know my teammates. Plus, I came all the way to Japan and just started settling down. But I never forget how to score goals and I’m sure I will get better in the coming games.”
　In Melbourne, Marinos left former Japan internationals Nakamura Shunsuke and Nakazawa Yuji at home due to their tight match schedule. The visitors went behind in the 18th minute through Kosta Barbarouses and struggled to get into the game.
　Fujimoto Jungo hit the woodwork with a free-kick 10 minutes after the break and Sato Yuhei and Saito Manabu made attempts but couldn’t find the net.
　Yokohama remain at the bottom of the group table with one point, while defending ACL champions Guangzhou Evergrande improved their points total to seven following a 3-1 win over Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at home. Jeonbuk and Melbourne have four points each but the Korean club are second on goal difference over the Aussies.