J. League first-stage champions Urawa Reds beat Albirex Niigata 5-2 on Saturday night to complete the opening campaign with an unbeaten record.

Urawa went into the match at Saitama Stadium having already wrapped up the first-stage silverware the previous weekend, but the 2006 champions had the chance to embellish the achievement by becoming the first team in J. League history to finish a stage undefeated.

First-half goals from Shinzo Koroki and Yuki Muto put Urawa in control before both players scored again early in the second half to make the result a formality. Niigata’s Rafael Silva then pulled one back from the penalty spot, but Daisuke Nasu added another for Reds before Hiroshi Ibusuki gave the visitors a late second.

Urawa’s first-stage title may ultimately count for nothing under the J. League’s complicated new championship format, but manager Mihailo Petrovic was satisfied with his players’ attitude after ending an almost eight-year silverware drought the previous weekend.

“We were in a very difficult situation going into this game after clinching the title last week and having all the attention that came with it,” said Petrovic. “It took a lot of concentration from the players. Teams who clinch the title quite often go on to lose their next game.

“As the week went on, the players were able to refocus on the task at hand. For us this was a very important game — maybe the most important of the 17 so far. I wanted to see how switched on the players would be and how they would react after last week.”

This year’s format gives the team with the most points over the whole season a direct ticket to the championship game, with a stage win guaranteeing at least a spot in an earlier playoff round.

“No one is satisfied by what we’ve achieved so far, and we want to keep this going in the second stage,” said Muto, who has now scored eight goals this season.

“I’ve gained a lot of confidence over the first stage of the season, and I want to use that in the second stage. We’re just taking each game as it comes, and not thinking too much about things.”

Albirex almost took a surprise 16th-minute lead when Silva found himself through on goal with only Shusaku Nishikawa to beat, but the goalkeeper raced out to smother the Brazilian’s shot before Ryohei Yamazaki slashed the rebound over the bar.

The wasted opportunity would come back to haunt the visitors just minutes later when referee Yuichi Nishimura awarded Urawa a penalty. Kentaro Oi tripped Tsukasa Umesaki in the box, and Koroki stepped up to calmly slot home the spot kick.

Reds then doubled their lead in the 35th minute when Yuki Abe rattled a shot off the crossbar and Muto met the rebound before it even had a chance to hit the ground, volleying home from the edge of the box.

Muto again profited from a rebound to score his second of the evening five minutes into the second half. Koroki fired off a shot that remarkably hit both posts, but Muto was on hand to direct it over the line and put Reds in complete control.

Koroki made it four when he converted a pass from Yosuke Kashiwagi in the 57th minute, but Silva pulled one back from the penalty spot when Nishimura spotted a foul in the Urawa box.

Nasu then powered home a header from a Kashiwagi free kick to restore Urawa’s four-goal cushion, before substitute Ibusuki rounded off the scoring with Niigata’s second in the 81st minute.

“Our league position is not good,” said Albirex manager Masaaki Yanagishita, whose team finished the first stage second-from-bottom in 17th place.

“From the start to the middle of the season we had a lot of games where we created chances but didn’t get the results. Then, as the games went by and we still weren’t picking up points, the players began to lose their confidence and stopped trying to be bold in their play.”

Elsewhere in the J. League, FC Tokyo finished the first stage in second place after a 3-2 win over Shimizu S-Pulse, but star forward Yoshinori Muto was unable to find the target in his last game before leaving for German side Mainz.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima finished third after a 2-2 draw with Sagan Tosu, while Gamba Osaka came fourth after a Takashi Usami hat trick gave the defending champions a 3-1 win over Montedio Yamagata.

Kawasaki Frontale edged Kashima Antlers 3-2, Vissel Kobe and Yokohama F. Marinos drew 1-1, and Yoshihito Fujita scored an 88th-minute winner as Shonan Bellmare beat Matsumoto Yamaga 3-2.

In the day’s other games, Ventforet Kofu and Kashiwa Reysol drew 1-1, and Vegalta Sendai beat Nagoya Grampus 2-0.