Tokyo, having returned to a balanced record with consecutive wins, aims for further progress in enemy territory.

In the last match, we won against Tosu, achieving our first home victory in the league and securing consecutive wins. As a result, we now have 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses, leveling our points. From here, we want to gradually turn our points and goal difference into a positive.

In particular, there have been no matches without conceding a goal so far, and ideally, we want to achieve a victory while keeping the goals against to a minimum. However, Coach Massimo stated, "Of course, we aim to improve the quality in both offense and defense, but there may not be many matches without conceding in the J-League. This might be due to the unique DNA of Japanese football." He emphasized the desire to win over the total 90 minutes. Tokyo will see Morishige return from suspension, and once again, the lineup will change from the previous match, with Mita, Muto, and Takahashi, who participated in the Japan national team activities, starting. Edu, Yoshimoto, and Azuma will start on the bench. Takahashi will serve as the anchor, with Yonemoto and Mita in the inside half. Hirayama and Muto will form a two-top. The formation will start with Kono in the attacking midfield.　

Hiroshima is currently in 2nd place. They are competing in the league while also participating in the ACL, with 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss so far, having only lost once.
With a 3-5-2 formation, the team is characterized by solid defense, the forward runs of Sato, the crosses from midfielder Mikic, and the breakthrough ability of forwards Ishihara and others. This season, defender Shiotani has already marked 6 goals and has been selected for the Japan national team for the first time, creating an impression of increased attacking diversity. Additionally, the newly joined midfielder Kashiwa is also starting as a left midfielder. Although it is an away game, they have won at EDION Stadium Hiroshima for the past two seasons, and the favorable data adds to the positives. Above all, against Hiroshima, who boasts consecutive league championships, they want to aim for 3 points with a bold and proactive approach.

Sec. 7 at EDION Stadium Hiroshima with overcast skies. As evening approached, a chill was felt, and the match started at 19:04 with a kickoff from Tokyo.

In the first half, we created big chances, but we couldn't score and went into the second half scoreless.

In the third minute of the match, Gonda's kick was dropped by Hirayama in the opponent's half, and Muto dribbled centrally, while Ota, who had moved up on the outside, cut in from the side to deliver a cross. However, it didn't connect at the far post. Still, they linked the loose ball, and Yonemoto delivered a right cross. From this flow, Muto entered the right area and attempted a forceful shot, but it was blocked.
In the following 4 minutes, from the right side of Hiroshima, MF Takahagi's early cross was met by FW Sato diving in with a header, but Tokyo's defense closed in tightly, and Gonda caught the ball.

On the other hand, in Tokyo, in the 9th minute, Mita advanced to a high position on the left front line and made a backward pass to Hirayama, who controlled the ball and took a shot, but it hit the bar... Following the rebound, Kono took a shot from just outside the right area towards the upper right of the goal, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 12th minute, Hirayama became the starting point on the left in midfield, making a long cross to Tokunaga, who was advancing on the right. Tokunaga took a step forward and aimed for a mid-range shot, but it was deflected by an opponent and went out of play. After 15 minutes, as a countermeasure against Hiroshima, Takahashi moved into the center of the defensive line, forming a shape close to a 5-back during defense. They pressed in midfield and launched a quick transition attack, creating a big chance, but they could not convert it. In terms of possession rate, Hiroshima was in the lead.

30 minutes have passed. Allowing Hiroshima to dominate, they have repeatedly crossed to right MF Mikic from well-coordinated side changes, but the defense in the center has shown no cracks and has fought tenaciously. In the following 32nd minute, Morishige aimed for a ground vertical pass between the front line and Hiroshima DF. Kono tried to control the ball from the trap and break through, but it was slightly too long and was blocked by the Hiroshima DF. Furthermore, in the 39th minute, the right-sided Muto slipped the ball through the opponent DF's legs, and Kono broke into the left area to face the GK one-on-one. However, the decisive shot was saved by the GK. Hirayama followed up on the rebound, gauged the angle, and pushed it in with a header, but... it was cleared by the covering Hiroshima DF...

In the latter part of the first half, they give consecutive free kicks to Hiroshima, but they bounce back with the DF line and then manage to hold off the offside.
Although they allowed Hiroshima to dominate, they solidified the center with defense in the midfield and Takahashi covering the defensive line, preventing any goals.
On the contrary, Kono, Muto, and others created a big chance by exploiting Hiroshima's weaknesses, but they could not score in front of Hiroshima's defenders' good play. The match goes into the second half scoreless.

Fought tenaciously but conceded a goal from a corner kick and lost the match

Entering the second half at the 51st minute, Takahashi, Yonemoto, and Kono attempted to attack by increasing their numbers in the front line, but Hiroshima solidified their central defense and did not allow any shots. They pushed the entire team forward, and in the end, Tokunaga delivered a right cross, but it was cleared. After that, they applied pressure from the front line, diminishing Hiroshima's strengths, but they lacked precision and coordination after regaining possession. In a situation where they couldn't bring it to a finish, Hanyu came onto the pitch in the 60th minute, replacing Mita.

In the 80th minute, from a vertical pass by Hiroshima DF Mizumoto, MF Kashiwa advanced into the left area. Tokunaga cleared the ball with a sliding tackle while facing backward, but the ball went out of bounds, resulting 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 post to the near post... allowing the first goal.

In the 86th minute, Edu came on for Muto, and in the 88th minute, Higashi was brought in for Yonemoto. Following that, during the second half's added time, Edu received the ball from Kono on the left, and Ota overlapped to earn a left corner kick. Gonda also advanced, but Ota's kick was caught by the Hiroshima goalkeeper.

Tokyo had been fighting tenaciously, but they allowed Hiroshima to score first from a corner kick. Conversely, they were unable to capitalize on set-piece opportunities in their attack. In the final stages, they launched a full-scale counterattack, but could not break through Hiroshima's solid defense, resulting in a 0-1 defeat.

[Player Comments]
《Hirayama》
"As for the flow of the match, it wasn't bad. If we had been able to capitalize on our chances in the first half, we could have extended our time in control. However, in the second half, we had fewer shots. Hiroshima came to nullify our strengths, and we couldn't find our rhythm. Then we conceded a goal from a corner kick... Hiroshima definitely made the most of set pieces, and I feel we couldn't do the same. It turned out to be a very disappointing match."

《Hanyu》
"Against a team like Hiroshima, we have previously implemented mirror games or used a five-back strategy. This time as well, considering Hiroshima's 'width'... with options both inside and outside, we chose to cover with five players, which I think led to a balanced match. Time passed while respecting the opponent, but I believe the tactics we adopted were based on the maturity of the Hiroshima team, our position, and the fact that we were playing away. However, I didn't feel that we were overly respectful, and there were moments when we created chances by countering Hiroshima. We had several opportunities for set plays as well. It wasn't a situation where we couldn't do anything... in a sense, we had the potential to control the game and close it out properly. Therefore, at the very least, I wanted to bring home at least one point, and that was something we discussed among ourselves on the pitch. In that sense, I think we've become smarter than before in terms of being able to make such commitments. However, if there was any complacency that made us think we could just end it this way... that might have led to that conceded goal. If we have the will to move up, we haven't truly matured in the real sense."

【Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's Press Conference】
"I think we played very well in the first half and created many chances, but their goalkeeper showed great performance. I believe it was a balanced match until the end, but in the second half, we had fewer chances compared to the first half. We were able to play well against a very strong team like Hiroshima, who are two-time champions, but in football, if you don't capitalize on decisive chances, the match becomes difficult. However, I believe the team is heading in the right direction."

[Press Conference Summary of Hiroshima's Hajime MORIYASU]
"I thought today's match would be tough and challenging, and it turned out to be just that. Tokyo had prepared well against us, making it difficult to break through. However, the players fought patiently. I believe the match could have gone either way. It was a difficult game to break down Tokyo's very solid defense, but I thought if we fought patiently, we could come out on top, and as a result, scoring from a set piece and winning was very significant."