Tokyo, who returned the stars to a 5-5 record with consecutive wins, aims for further progress on enemy territory.

In the previous match, we won against Tosu and achieved our first home victory in the league, as well as a consecutive win. As a result, we have 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses, making us even. From here on, we want to gradually turn our points and goal difference into positives.

There has been no game without conceding a goal so far, and we want to achieve a victory while keeping the number of goals conceded to a minimum. However, coach Massimo said, "Of course, we aim to improve the quality both in attack and defense, but there may not be many games without conceding a goal in the J-League. It may not be due to Japan's unique DNA in soccer." He also mentioned that he wants to win the game in a total of 90 minutes. Tokyo will have Morishige back from suspension and will make changes to the starting lineup from the previous game, with Mita, Muto, and Takahashi, who participated in activities with the Japan national team, starting. Edu, Yoshimoto, and Higashi will start on the bench. Takahashi will play as an anchor, with Yonemoto and Mita as inside halves. Hirayama and Muto will be the two top players, with Kono playing as a top midfielder.　

Hiroshima, on the other hand, is currently in 2nd place. They are competing in the league while also fighting in the ACL, and so far they have 4 wins, 1 draw, and only 1 loss.
Playing in a 3-5-2 formation, this team is known for their solid defense, the attacking runs of FW Sato, the crosses from MF Mikić, and the attacking prowess of FW Ishihara. This season, DF Shiotani has already scored 6 goals and has even been called up to the Japan national team, adding to the team's momentum and increasing their attacking diversity. New addition MF Kashiwa also starts as a left MF. Despite being away, the team has won at EDION Stadium Hiroshima for the past 2 seasons, and this favorable record is a positive factor. Above all, they want to aim for 3 points with an aggressive approach against Hiroshima, who have won the league title for two consecutive seasons, without any hesitation.

Sec. 7 will be held at EDION Stadium Hiroshima, which is slightly cloudy. As the evening approaches, the temperature drops and the game started at 7:04 PM with a kickoff from Tokyo.

The first half created big chances, but no goals were scored and it went scoreless into the second half.

In the first 3 minutes of the game, Gonda's kick was dropped by Hirayama in the opponent's territory. Muto dribbled through the center and Ota, who had moved up on the outside, crossed the side. However, it didn't connect at the far post. Still, they managed to keep the ball and Yonemoto crossed from the right. From this momentum, Muto tried to forcefully shoot from the right area, but it was blocked.
In the following 4 minutes, Hiroshima's right side MF Takahagi made an early cross, which was met by FW Sato's diving header, but Tokyo DF closed in tightly and Gonda made the catch.

On the other hand, Tokyo attacked for 9 minutes, with Mita pushing up to the high left side and passing to Hirayama in the left area. Hirayama controlled the ball and took a shot, but it hit the bar... The rebound was connected and Kono took a shot from the right area, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. In the following 12 minutes, Hirayama started the play in the left midfield and made a long side change to Tokunaga on the right. Tokunaga took a step forward and aimed for a shot, but it hit the opponent and went out of bounds. After 15 minutes, as a countermeasure against Hiroshima, Takahashi moved to the center of the defensive line, forming a 5-back shape. They pressed in the midfield and created big chances with quick counterattacks, but they were unable to score. In terms of possession, Hiroshima had the upper hand.

30 minutes have passed. They have allowed Hiroshima to dominate and have repeatedly crossed to right MF Mikic, but their defense in the center has not shown any cracks and they have been fighting tenaciously. In the 32nd minute, Morishige aimed for the space between the front line and Hiroshima DF and sent a ground pass. Kono tried to control it and cut inside, but it was slightly too long and was blocked by the Hiroshima DF. In the 39th minute, Mutoh passed through the legs of the opposing DF and Kono broke through the left area, one-on-one with the GK. However, the GK saved the decisive shot. The rebound was followed up by Hirayama, who carefully placed a header, but it was cleared by the Hiroshima DF who had covered the goal...

In the latter half of the first half, Hiroshima continuously gave away FKs, but the DF line bounced them back and then successfully defended against the offside.
Although they allowed Hiroshima to dominate, they were able to hold the center with their defense in the midfield and Takahashi covering the defensive line, preventing any goals.
On the other hand, Kono and Muto took advantage of Hiroshima's gap and created a big chance, but they couldn't score due to the good play of Hiroshima's defense. Scoreless into the second half.

Despite fighting tenaciously, we conceded a goal from a corner kick and lost the game.

In the second half, in the 51st minute, Takahashi, Yonemoto, and Kono try to attack by putting numbers in the front line, but Hiroshima also tightens their defense in the center and does not allow them to take a shot. They push up as a whole and finally Tokunaga puts in a right cross, but it is blocked. After that, they press from the front line and neutralize Hiroshima's strengths, but their precision and coordination after taking the ball are not enough. In this state where they cannot bring it to a finish, in the 60th minute, Hayashi replaces Mita and enters the pitch.

At the 80th minute, MF Kashiwa advanced into the left area from a vertical pass by Hiroshima DF Mizumoto. Tokunaga slid backwards to clear the ball, but it crossed the line and resulted in a corner kick. This is Hiroshima's left corner kick. MF Takahagi's kick was headed in by DF Chiba, who jumped from the far side to the near side...and we conceded the first goal.

Edu came on for Muto in the 86th minute, and Higashi was substituted for Yonemoto in the 88th minute. In the following second half additional time, Ota overlapped with Kono on the left and won a corner kick. Goneda also pushed forward, but Ota's kick was caught by the Hiroshima goalkeeper.

Tokyo had been fighting tenaciously, but they conceded the first goal from Hiroshima's corner kick. On the other hand, they were unable to take advantage of set piece opportunities in their attacks. In the final stages, they launched a full-scale counterattack, but were unable to break through Hiroshima's solid defense, resulting in a 0-1 defeat.

[Player Comments]
《Hirayama》
「As for the game management, it wasn't bad. If we had been able to score in the first half chances, we could have had more time for ourselves. However, in the second half, we had fewer shots. Hiroshima came to shut down our strengths and we couldn't get into the flow of the game. And then we conceded a goal from a corner kick... Hiroshima definitely utilized their set pieces, and we couldn't do the same. It was a really disappointing game.」

"Hanyu"
"We have played against teams like Hiroshima before, and we have used mirror games and 5-back to counter them. This time, we chose to cover the width of Hiroshima's team with 5 players, and I think it was a close match. As time passed, we respected our opponents, but we also considered the maturity of Hiroshima's team, our position, and the fact that we were playing away. However, I didn't feel like we were respecting them too much, and there were also moments where we could create chances by doing the opposite of what Hiroshima was doing. We also had many chances from set pieces. It wasn't a situation where we couldn't do anything...we had the potential to control the game and close it out. So at the very least, we wanted to bring back 1 point, and we all talked about it on the pitch. In that sense, I think we have become smarter than before. However, if we were too confident that we could end the game like this, and if that led to complacency...maybe that's what led to that goal. If we have the will to move forward, we need to become true adults."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"I think we played very well in the first half and created a lot of chances, but the opponent's goalkeeper made some good plays. I think it was a well-balanced game until the end, but we had fewer chances in the second half compared to the first. We were able to have a good game against a strong team like Hiroshima, who have won two consecutive titles, but in football, if you don't take advantage of decisive chances, the game becomes difficult. However, I think the team is heading in the right direction."

[Hiroshima - Hajime Moriyasu's Press Conference Summary]
"I thought today's game would be tough and challenging, and it turned out to be just that. Tokyo had a solid plan against us, making it difficult for us to break through. However, our players fought patiently. The game could have gone either way. It was a tough game to break through due to Tokyo's strong defense, but I believed that if we fought patiently, we could come out on top. As a result, scoring a goal through a set piece and winning was a huge accomplishment."