A match after 2 years. Secure points in a good match against C Osaka.

　The league match on this day, which will be held only two days after the Nabisco Cup held on the 9th, will be against C Osaka, who returned to J1 this season. It will be the first match against C Osaka in two years, but the past record is in favor of Tokyo with 3 wins and 1 loss. In particular, in the match two years ago in the 2nd stage, Amaral's hat-trick led to a decisive victory and became a fateful match that determined C Osaka's relegation to J2.

　Both teams are worried about their fatigue levels due to a tough schedule of three games in the past week. However, Tokyo achieved a big win with 4 goals in their previous Nabisco Cup match against Sendai, playing an attacking game throughout. The team's atmosphere is great. They must avoid consecutive losses after losing to Verdy in the previous league match, so their motivation for this game is high.

　On the other hand, C Osaka won their first victory of the season in a fierce battle against Shimizu in the previous match, with a score of 5-4. They will aim to continue their momentum by winning this match. It is expected that they will come into this crucial match with high motivation, as they also aim for their first home victory.

　Tokyo's Jean, who missed the Sendai match three days ago due to accumulated warnings, returned and almost the best lineup was assembled despite the absence of FW Abe with right knee pain. Amaral, who has scored 6 goals in 4 matches against C Osaka in the past, has a good compatibility and is expected to perform well as he has scored 2 goals in the previous Nabisco Cup Sendai match. On the other hand, C Osaka has made bold player selections, such as starting FW Nishizawa instead of FW Baron as the partner of U-22 Japan national team's ace FW Okubo, and starting MF Tokushige for the first time instead of veteran Morishima on the bench. Both teams, known for their attacking power, will kick off at 3pm.

Unable to score despite overwhelming attack

　The game started with Tokyo taking the initiative. Amaral and Kelly's reliable post play in the center, following the theory of spreading the ball to the sides, allowed them to dominate from the beginning. In particular, Ishikawa and Kaji created chances with their speedy attacks from the right side. In the 5th minute, Kaji's accurate cross was met by Kelly, but it hit the opponent's defender and was caught by the GK. In the 13th minute, Toda also met Kaji's cross near the goal, but it was caught by the GK again. In the 14th minute, Kaji once again crossed to Amaral, who then passed to Kelly, and finally Miyazawa made a quick shot from the center, but it missed the target.

　On the other hand, C Osaka has been creating chances from the post-play of former Japan national team FW Nishizawa, with the involvement of FW Yu OKUBO and MF Tokushige. In the 15th minute, a through pass was made to Okubo who was aiming for the back of Tokyo's DF line, resulting in a 1-on-1 situation, but GK Doi made a stop. It was a reminder not to underestimate Okubo's speed. In the following minutes, Okubo drifted into the left space and took shots in the 19th and 24th minutes, but no goals were allowed.

　C Osaka struggled to create chances, with only MF Perack occasionally taking shots from the middle range. They were unable to keep possession in the midfield, resulting in a monotonous attack of simply kicking the ball up to FW Okubo and Nishizawa in the front line. The game continued at a Tokyo pace, with Ishikawa making a sharp run down the right side and passing to Toda for a shot in the 26th minute. The ball bounced off the opponent and Toda took another shot, but it was not a clean hit. In the 32nd minute, Ishikawa took a volley shot from a corner kick, but it went over the bar. In the 34th minute, there was a scramble in front of the goal and Kelly, after passing through Kaji and Miyazawa, took a shot that seemed to go in, but it was unfortunately offside. In the 38th minute, Ishikawa took a shot from the middle, and in the 42nd minute, Kelly attempted a technical shot with his right heel from a cross by Kanazawa, but it did not go in. In the final moments, Tokyo's MF Tokushige took advantage of a momentary gap and made a run through the center, but his shot from inside the penalty area went over the bar. In the end, despite Tokyo dominating the game, both teams went into halftime with no goals scored.

C Osaka bets on an ultra-offensive formation

　The second half began and C Osaka aggressively attacked. As in the first half, they were inferior to Tokyo in midfield organization, so they quickly gathered the ball to the front line of Nishizawa and Okubo, and ultimately relied on Okubo's breakthrough power to compete, but Tokyo's defenders calmly dealt with it. In the 48th minute, Okubo made a sharp run and was allowed to enter deep into the penalty area, but it resulted in a corner kick. On the other hand, Tokyo launched a counterattack from a quick attack, and in the 49th minute, Toda → Kelly → Kaji passed the ball and took a shot from the left, but the goal was too far away.

　In the 52nd minute, Pelak took a shot from the middle range after finding space, and in the following 53rd minute, the left side was broken through and a cross was put in, but a powerful shot from the opposite side was stopped by GK Doi. C Osaka, riding on momentum, then brought in key players MF Morishima and FW Baron, seemingly trying to overwhelm their opponents with an ultra-attacking formation.

　62 minutes, Baron competes for a long ball from behind and sends it to the front of the goal, where Morishima dives in with a header shot. The ball has no momentum and GK Doi easily catches it, but C Osaka's attacking force is starting to show its fear. After that, Morishima jumps out to the side with his abundant physical strength, creates a base, and from there, with precise passing work from Nishizawa, Okubo, and others, they approached Tokyo's goal.

Unable to score despite a counterattack with Baba's entry, resulting in a draw.

　Tokyo, who had been unable to create chances against C Osaka's attacking power, brought in the in-form MF Baba, who has scored in the last two games, in the 63rd minute. Shortly after, Baba received a pass on the left side and took a powerful left-footed shot from inside the left penalty area, but the opponent GK managed to punch it away and prevent a goal. However, this one shot changed the momentum and the opponent's defense became more cautious and dropped back.

　Tokyo, who regained their rhythm, continued in the 65th minute. A pass from Ishikawa on the right side to Miyazawa in the center, who sharply shot but was barely cleared by the opposing DF. From the resulting left corner kick, Jean took a powerful header shot near the goal, but it hit the GK and couldn't find the back of the net. In the 68th minute, Kelly on the right side made a perfect heel pass to Amaral, who then charged towards the goal. He passed to Baba on the left side, but it was cut off by the opposing DF, missing a golden opportunity. In the following 70th minute, Baba received a pass from Kelly in the center and skillfully evaded his marker with a step, taking a powerful left-footed shot that hit the crossbar and couldn't find the back of the net.

　After that, the game continued with a back-and-forth attack between Tokyo and C Osaka, but in the 79th minute, C Osaka's FW Yu OKUBO made a sharp run through the center and took a powerful shot from a counter attack. Although the goalkeeper, Doi, made a super save, C Osaka regained their pace. In the 87th minute, they connected passes in front of the goal and FW Baron took a strong shot from OKUBO's last pass, but Doi once again made a super save and prevented a goal. Both teams continued to play aggressively until the end, but the game ended in a scoreless draw.

【Player Comments】《Amaral》"In the first half, we were able to control the pace, but in the second half, the opponent increased their players in the front line and we lost our rhythm. However, since it was an away game, it was good to get 1 point. I'm happy that I was able to play for 90 minutes. I'm not at 100% yet, but I think I'm getting closer to that."《Baba》"I thought the first shot went in. I was aiming for my third consecutive goal, but unfortunately I couldn't score."

[Summary of the press conference by former coach] "We were tired from playing three games in the past week, and on top of that, we got stuck in a traffic jam on the highway during our trip yesterday, and had to wait in the car for over an hour and a half. I had a bad feeling about it. I told the players that even if they weren't feeling well, we had to come back with points today, and unfortunately, that prediction came true. Also, the opposing coach, Nishimura, is a close friend from our time on the national team, and both teams were determined not to lose, which made the game very tight. The other team didn't connect their passes and kept sending long balls, making it difficult for us to press and play our usual style of soccer. However, I think a draw is a fair result based on today's performance. Our performance wasn't bad at all. There are areas we need to improve on, but Baba is in good shape and Abe will be returning, so we want to win the next game against Nagoya."

[Summary of C Osaka Nishimura's press conference] "We wanted to take 3 points today because we haven't won at home. We should have been able to have a better performance and if we can change sides in the midfield and make good passes with one touch, I think we could have scored with good players in the front line. Our challenge is to improve the accuracy in the midfield. It's disappointing that we couldn't win today, but I think it was very good that we kept the score at 0."