The showdown between J-League's strongest "spear" and "shield". Tokyo, who has scored the most goals in the league with 26, faced off against Gamba Osaka, who boasts the league's best defense with only 11 goals conceded, at Ajinomoto Stadium.
From May 11th, there were 5 consecutive games in 2 days and 3 days. Although Tokyo was aiming for a top spot in the league, they were only able to accumulate 2 draws and 1 loss, but in the 3rd round of the J-League YBC Levain Cup, they were able to advance by winning away at their weak spot, Tosu, and return to their home, Ajinomoto Stadium.
G Osaka, who will be the opponent for this round, is currently in 4th place in the league. This will be a crucial match as they aim to once again compete for the top spot and turn their performance into results.
Tokyo started the game with the same lineup as the previous match against Yokohama F.Marinos, with the goalkeeper, defense line, central midfielders, and both wings. Ryotaro ARAKI was placed as the attacking midfielder, and Diego OLIVEIRA was positioned at the front line. They faced the game with both players, ARAKI and DIEGO, in a vertical relationship for the first time since the 3rd round match against Vissel Kobe.
1st HALF - Neither team could score a big chance.
Tokyo will aim for sharp attacks while defending against G Osaka, who will come in pushing the ball from the beginning.
Tokyo was the first to receive a big chance. In the 9th minute of the first half, Soma ANZAI passed a through ball to the space on the right side, and Diego TABA, who won the race against the opponent defender, kept the ball and passed it to the side of the goal. From there, Kota TAWARATSUMIDA aimed with his right foot at the precise cross, but the shot from close range was saved by the goalkeeper, and they couldn't score the opening goal.
In the 19th minute of the first half, Yuto NAGATOMO, who started in the center of the pitch, made his way to the goal. He received a vertical pass and connected it to the left, where Diego TABA received the ball near the penalty area corner. From there, Erik, who ran in from behind, aimed for the goal with his left foot, but unfortunately the shot hit the goalkeeper's face.
Tokyo will not only aim for counterattacks targeting the back of G Osaka's compact formation, but also actively engage in possession battles.
In the 42nd minute of the first half, Taishi Brandon NOZAWA made a powerful middle shot from the flow of a left corner kick, but it was blocked by the opponent. The loose ball was picked up and a long counter attack was received. Although YAMASHITA allowed a solo run from near the halfway line, it was Taishi Brandon NOZAWA who stood in the way. He made a super save with his left hand to deflect the opponent's powerful shot and protected the goal.
While creating big chances together, the net remained unshaken. The first half ended scoreless.
2ndHALF - Oishi cries over late goal despite fine saves
Shortly after the start of the second half, player Usami's middle shot was saved by player Nozawa with a fine save, and from here on, Tokyo's left side becomes activated all at once.
In the 6th minute of the second half, Tawara Taketa, who broke through on a through pass from Kei Koizumi, who connected in a narrow area on the left side, made a cross to the goal line. In the following 8th minute of the second half, Taketa Tawara dribbled and crossed, but Nagatomo jumped in and was bounced out by the opposing goalkeeper at the cross. In addition, in the 9th minute of the second half, Kashif BANGNAGANDE made a sharp cross, but it narrowly missed Anzai. Creating chances one after another from the left side, the blue and red eleven are approaching the goal in pursuit of victory.
FC Tokyo, who wants to take the initiative, sent in Keita ENDO and Teruhito NAKAGAWA in the 18th minute of the second half. For ENDO, who made his comeback in the 3rd round of the Levain Cup against Tosu, this was his first league appearance in about a month since the Sec. 9 match against FC Machida Zelvia.
As numerous chances were created, the goalkeeper's save shines again. In the 22nd minute of the second half, the opponent's corner kick was headed near the goal, but Insoo YU made a fine save on Dawhan's close-range header. He quickly deflected it with his right hand and escaped danger.
Tokyo, who is going for the win, made two substitution cards in the 32nd minute of the second half. Kuryu Matsuki as the attacking midfielder and Jája Silva on the left side were brought in, while Nakagawa was moved to the front line and Yasuzaki to the left back, in an attempt to break through the defense.
However, in the 40th minute of the second half, they allowed the opponent to take the lead. Ewerton, who was on the right side after a big side change by the opponent, kept the ball. At this point, it was passed to Yamada, who had just been substituted in.
Tokyo, who tried to make a comeback in the late stages, approached the goal with daring dribbles by Nakagawa and shots by Takahiro KO. In the additional time of the second half, it seemed that Henrique TREVISAN had equalized with a kick from the left corner kick, but the goal was not allowed as the previous play was judged offside. Unable to catch up with the late goal, it was their second loss of the season without scoring.
MATCH DETAILS
＜FC Tokyo＞
STARTING Ⅺ
GK Taishi Brandon NOZAWA
DF Yuto NAGATOMO/Yasuki KIMOTO/Henrique TREVISAN/Kashif BANGNAGANDE (33rd minute: Jája Silva)
MF Takahiro KO/Kei KOIZUMI/Ryotaro ARAKI (18th minute: Teruhito NAKAGAWA)
FW Diego OLIVEIRA (33rd minute: Kuryu MATSUKI)/Kota TAWARATSUMIDA (18th minute: Keita ENDO)/Soma ANZAI
SUBS
GK Go HATANO
DF Masato MORISHIGE/Shuhei TOKUMOTO
GOAL
―
＜Gamba Osaka＞
STARTING Ⅺ
GK Jun ICHIMORI
DF Shota FUKUOKA/Riku HANDA/Keisuke KUROKAWA/Shinnosuke NAKATANI
MF Tokuma SUZUKI/Ryoji YAMASHITA (39' Kurata Shu)/Dawhan (27' Netalavi)/Welton (45+2' Shoji TOYAMA)
FW Takashi USAMI (45+2' Riku MATSUDA)/Isa SAKAMOTO (39' Kota YAMADA)
SUBS
GK Masaaki HIGASHIGUCHI
FW Issam JEBALI
GOAL
40' Second Half: Kota YAMADA
[Interview with Peter CKLAMOVSKI, Manager]
Q: please review the game.
A, I think it was a game where both teams played solidly and there were various challenges from a football perspective. However, I don't think there were many things happening. And as for the result, it was a result that hurt the club, fans, supporters, and all of us.
We may not have had our best performance today, but I believe we were able to create opportunities to earn 3 points or 1 point in a tight match. We will reflect on ourselves from here and analyze our performance, and use this pain to become even stronger. There were also times when things didn't go well for us, but I think the players have overcome such situations many times this season. Today, in the midst of this challenge to overcome, we ran out of time.
Q: Please review the offside situation of Henrique TREVISAN during additional time.
A, it was a disappointing scene and I thought it was a goal. However, the decision did not go our way, but that's football. The important thing is that we were able to create chances for ourselves during that time.As for the opponent's goal scene, it may not have been a good decision for us, but that's football. We need to overcome that. There are things that we cannot control. The players have been fighting this season while overcoming such things. I think the players showed us today that they are moving forward and believing in the direction they are going, and they fought through difficult situations.
Today's result may not be satisfying for us, but the important thing is to turn this pain into something that will fuel us and make us stronger. We need to continue to strive to become even stronger.
[Player Interview]
Takahiro KO
Q: please review the game.
There were many scenes where the center back went forward to steal the ball and it worked well. Also, I myself had the awareness to move forward after stealing the ball, but I think there were few scenes that led to chances from there. I think it was necessary to use different plays, whether to send the ball behind the opponent or to hold onto it and push forward.
Q, I think the pace picked up in the second half. How were you trying to break through Gamba Osaka's strong defense?
A, there were chances until the middle of the second half, and there were scenes where we could jump out from behind, but I think the result of the match would have been different if we had scored during that time. It was our weakness that we conceded a goal at the end.
Q, it was a goal conceded in a moment of carelessness.
A, I think the team stopped for a moment whether it was a foul or not at that moment. I think we had to maintain our concentration even in such a scene and defend until the end.
Q, I think we were able to show our strengths even in a difficult game.
There were many scenes where I collected the ball and felt confident. As an individual, I want to continue collecting the ball and increase the scenes where I pass it to the players in the front line. There are also players with momentum in the front line in Tokyo, so when we take the ball, our priority is to first pass it forward. There were also many scenes where I passed to Ryotaro ARAKI or Diego OLIVEIRA, but I want to improve our coordination after that.
＜Player Soma ANZAI＞
Q: please review the game.
A, it is very frustrating that we were not able to win in the league match, so we were not able to win in the game that we had to win in terms of ranking. There is no time to look down, so I think it is most important to switch and win in the next game.
Q, I changed positions and played during the game. What kind of mindset did you have while playing?
A, As long as I play on the front line, I am not able to achieve the most desired number, and I am aware of the crisis myself. Since there are no results, I don't think we can become a team that can win without wingers scoring, so we need to get results first. As a side back, I was conscious of not conceding at all. It was disappointing to concede and lose in that situation.
Q, the team has been conceding points.
A, In terms of overall defense, we always try to put pressure on the opponent while not falling back. Since the games are continuous, there is no time to adjust during practice, but there are also areas where players can discuss and improve during the game. However, I would like to be more conscious of the beginning of the game. Since the position of the wings tends to be a little low, I think I need to push out more. Even though we have conceded a lot of goals, we want to start the game with pressure from the front and defend while attacking.
Regarding today's scene of conceding, it is a fact that the entire team stopped moving and as a result, we neglected what we should have done as a team. When we concede goals like that, it becomes difficult to win even winnable games. Therefore, we must sharpen our focus and make sure that all members of the team do not stop moving during the game.
Q, How will you approach the next match?
In the league, we haven't won 4 games, but there's no point in dwelling on those games. We're only focusing on "winning" the next game. It will be a tough away game, but we want to fight as one team.
