Kagawa nets big goal in return to domestic form

The Dortmund man was among a number of Japanese who scored this weekend in European play, giving Alberto Zaccheroni plenty to consider as he plans for upcoming qualifiers.Japan's Europe-based players hoped to put on a good show for Samurai Blue manager Alberto Zaccheroni, who spent the weekend observing players ahead of selections for upcoming World Cup qualfiiers in November.In Germany it was almost natural that Shinji Kagawa of all players, criticised for his below-par performances for Borussia Dortmund recently, would open the scoring of his team’s triumphant 5-0 win over Koln. With Croatian attacker Ivan Perisic suspended for Saturday’s match the 22-year-old started after watching the last two league games from the bench.The Japanese attacker converted Kevin Grosskreutz’s pass from the byline as early as the seventh minute which was just the confidence-boosting medicine the young team needed. Kagawa as well as the whole team looked like they were finally returning to their fast-paced passing game and went on to demolish a lacklustre Geissbocke side.The former Cerezo man was also involved in his team’s second, left-back Marcel Schmelzer’s first ever goal of his Bundesliga career, and the third goal. Kagawa had numerous good moments throughout the game, and could also have earned the team a penalty in the second half. With the score 5-0, Kagawa was taken off in the 71st minute.The visitors who looked like having stabilized after a shaky start into the season under new boss Stale Solbakken never looked like more than a sparring partner, with their first attempt coming in the 86th minute. Tomoaki Makino stayed an unused substitute for Koln.Bundesliga action began on Friday evening when  Augsburg hosted Werder Bremen in a duel between South and North. Hajime Hosogai, who has built a reputation as a utility player of late, was deployed in his natural role of defensive midfield for Jos Luhukay’s team and had a decent game, taking creative Werder man Marko Marin out of the game.Playing the full 90 minutes the 25-year-old did not have many opportunities to shine attacking-wise while struggling Augsburg was relying on counters against a dominant opponent. However, tactics paid off well for the new boys as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.On Saturday, Stuttgart travelled to Nurnberg to secure a point in a 2-2 stalemate. Shinji Okazaki started as left-sided midfielder and switched positions with Martin Harnik on the right in the second half but had a rather quiet afternoon, firing just one shot. The 25-year-old was replaced in the 76th minute.Borussia Monchengladbach’s Yuki Otsu came on with five minutes to go in his team’s 1-0 loss away to Hoffenheim. In what was his debut for the Foals the youngster showed some promising moves on their right attacking side, but wasn’t able to change the outcome.Freiburg suffered a 1-0 defeat away to Kaiserslautern and dropped into bottom spot of the table. Kisho Yano has yet to feature in the struggling side’s squad this season.In the Saturday evening game, Wolfsburg travelled to Hamburg for the North derby. Makoto Hasebe was fielded as right-back and contributed to the Wolves’ solid defence with an error-free performance, rarely allowing attacks through his side of the backline throughout the game.In a rather defensive display of Magath’s team after the early lead, the former Urawa Reds midfielder eventually had the most ball touches of his team, but showed his quality in ending opponents’ attacks rather than building up play for the Wolves. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.On Sunday, Schalke recorded an 1-0 win away to Bayer Leverkusen to rise to third place. Having just returned from a hamstring injury, Atsuto Uchida did not feature yet under new boss Huub Stevens.In the last game of the round, Hannover stopped Bayern Munich’s 11-week unbeaten run with a famous 2-1 win at home. Takashi Usami, after playing a full match for Bayern II on Friday, did not feature on the first team’s bench.On Friday, VfL Bochum took home a point from Karlsruhe in the 2.Bundesliga after a rather exciting 0-0 draw, where both sides had their fair share of chances. Fielded on the left flank, Takashi Inui had a quiet first half, but came to life later when he moved to a central position behind the strikers and missed a golden opportunity in the 70th minute.In Serie A action, Yuto Nagatomo continued to focus on defence, contributing solidly in Inter's 1-0 win over Chievo; their first home victory of the season. Although some fans are surely disappointed with his lack of runs down the line, Nagatomo's stability in play seems to be bringing good results for struggling Inter.Takayuki Morimoto was the best attacker on the field for Novara until he was pulled off before the hour mark, but that was small comfort as his team couldn't find their way past the best defending in the country as Udinese triumphed 3-0.In Eredivisie play, the best Japanese performer was undoubtedly VVV's Maya Yoshida. The centre-back played a big role in his side's first win of the season as he netted the opener early on to lead VVV the way as they cruised to a 4-1 victory over RKC. Team-mate Robert Cullen was rather anonymous and got taken off in the closing stages.Michihiro Yasuda came off the bench for Vitesse in the 77th minute, helping his side see out their match against PSV to a 1-1 draw.Yoshiaki Takagi did not feature in his Utrecht's  4-1 home loss against Heerenveen.Akihiro Ienaga came off the bench for a contentious half hour in Mallorca's 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid; he had a relatively poor outing and was one of six team-mates who saw yellow cards as his team struggled to contain the high-powered Atletico attack.In English Championship action, Yuki Abe created Leicester City's only solid chance early on in their shock 3-0 loss to Millwall. Abe was substituted at the beginning of the second half, but he will outlast former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson who was dismissed by club ownership after the defeat.Masahiko Inoha's strike on the hour gave his Hadjuk Split side a 2-0 lead against Lucko; they went on to win by a 3-0 score-line and remain four points behind league leaders Dinamo Zagreb.Eiji Kawashima continued to receive poor support from his Lierse team-mates; he surrendered an early goal and then a late penalty kick in Sunday's 2-0 loss to last-place Sint-Truiden.