Away Saitama Stadium, put an end to the 9-game winless streak

As we enter May in the midst of consecutive games, the 11th round of the league will be held. We will face Urawa Reds and head to their home ground. In the previous round, we were defeated by a single corner kick from Nagoya and were unable to end our last game at National Stadium with a victory. However, Manager Massimo says, "There are areas we need to improve on, such as defending against set pieces and not being able to capitalize on scoring opportunities, but I saw the determination to not allow any additional goals until the end and to continue fighting for a goal. We will make the necessary adjustments and start fresh once again."

Although this round is coming in 3 days, "The balance for approaching the game has changed and there should be fatigue, but the story is different for each game. We have prepared as usual," he continued. Therefore, for this round, Kaga will be used as a center back and Muto as a forward, considering the countermeasures against Urawa and consecutive games. On the team sheet, it is a 4-4-2 formation, but Hirayama will be at the forefront, with Watanabe and Muto on both sides as a front three. Also, Takahashi will aim for victory by playing as a defender during defense.

Urawa, on the other hand, is currently in 4th place with 19 points. Under the guidance of coach Petrovic, who is in his third year, they have developed their own style with a 3-4-2-1 formation, with MF Abe as the starting point for build-up play. They are a strong team that always competes for the top spot. In particular, their front line consists of FW Lee, MF Okazaki, and Haraguchi, all of whom are capable of breaking through on their own. Therefore, the first priority is to prevent them from finishing. At the same time, in the previous match, Lee scored from a corner kick to secure a win against Yokohama FM, showing their ability to win tough matches.

For Tokyo, the away match against Urawa at Saitama Stadium 2002 has not resulted in a victory for 9 consecutive games since 2004. However, in the past 2 seasons, they have won 1 and drawn 3 against Urawa, surpassing their opponents. In order to come out on top in this closely contested match, the coach emphasizes the importance of "minimizing mistakes on both offense and defense." It will be a crucial match where they must maintain focus for the full 90 minutes and put an end to their dishonorable record.

On a perfect day for watching, in the middle of Golden Week, the game started at 4:04 pm with Urawa's kickoff.

Unable to take advantage of early opportunities, but Urawa grabs the rhythm...

Immediately after the kickoff, PREMIST took the ball from Urawa and launched a fast attack, with Erik making a powerful dribble to break through to the left front line. In the final pass in front of the goal, Watanabe took a shot, but it was blocked by the opposing DF, resulting in a corner kick. In the 4th minute, Urawa switched the ball from the left side to the right front line. The ball went over Ota's head and reached Urawa's right MF, Umezaki. He took a shot from the right area, but it was saved by Gonda with his left foot. In the 7th minute, they pressed forward and caused a passing error from Urawa's DF, with Watanabe aiming for a shot, but it went straight to the GK.

In the early stages, both teams put on a powerful press to compete for the ball. There were many moments where the ball was lost, making for a hectic game, but gradually they were unable to break through. While Urawa maintained control of the game, their defense in the midfield was strong, with Takahashi and Kaga leading the way, and they were able to withstand the pressure and prevent any goals from being scored.

On the contrary, Lins took advantage of Urawa's gap and in the 38th minute, Watanabe in the right area received a cross from Tokunaga on the right side and immediately turned and shot, but it went to the right. In the 43rd minute, Mutoh snatched the loose ball in the midfield and rushed to the front line. Although he won the competition against the opponent's DF with his speed, he couldn't bring the ball into the area for a shot. He cut back against the chasing Urawa DF and passed it to Watanabe in the center. He created a decisive opportunity, but the shot went straight to the GK... Although they couldn't take advantage of the chance, they showed no signs of weakness in defense and ended the first half with a scoreless tie.

Took the lead and attacked, but once again conceded from a set piece......

In the second half, Tokyo dominated the ball from the beginning, and in the 48th minute, they passed the ball in the opponent's territory and looked for a chance. Kaga, who pushed up the entire team and attacked the space, took a middle shot. In the 52nd minute, Takahashi supported the attacking line and pushed forward. From there, they persistently connected passes, and Tokunaga on the right side cut inside and aimed for the goal from just in front of the left area. However, the powerful shot hit the left post... In the 55th minute, Hirayama in the center of the area received a pass from the left side and broke through the Urawa DF, but the decisive shot went just to the right...

Unable to take advantage of scoring opportunities, they gradually lost possession and were hit by a counterattack from Urawa. As a result, Kono was substituted in the 61st minute. However, in the 65th minute, Urawa sent a floating ball to the front line and FW Lee made a run towards the area. MF Haraguchi received a pass and once again brought the ball into the left area, but Takahashi threw himself in front to block the shot.

After that, they couldn't pick up the second ball, and in the 79th minute, Urawa's MF VADAO dribbled into the area, but Kono followed closely and Kaga covered, and in the end it was cleared with a corner kick! However, from this left corner kick by Urawa, a sharp kick was sent to MF VADAO, who jumped in with perfect timing near the goal, and was headed in by MF Abe... Following the previous match, they conceded a goal again from a corner kick.

In an attempt to equalize, in the 41st minute, Muto broke through the left front line from Kono's pass and forcefully entered the area. He passed the DF and found Yonemoto free in the center. However, his shot from here grazed the DF and went out for a corner kick... After that, Matsuda and Edu were brought on, and they continued to push for a goal, including 6 minutes of additional time, but they were unable to break through Urawa's defense and the game ended. Just like the previous match, they suffered a loss due to a goal conceded from a corner kick.

[Player Comments]
"Kaga"
"It was tough from the second half of the game. Still, I think we were able to defend together. We have been losing in set pieces against Hiroshima, Nagoya, and today, and we are repeating the same thing. That's why the frustration is even stronger. It's just a small thing, but it's what's making the difference in the game, and I think we are lacking compared to the opponent. We need to fix that."

"Muto"
"We were able to create many chances from counters and show various variations in our attacks. The defense worked hard to keep the goals down, so I really wanted to score... As a personal challenge, I want to improve my ability to choose between passing and shooting."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"It's difficult to comment even if it ends 0-0. Because the players played well and created chances, and didn't let the opponent play as they wanted. Losing 0-1 makes it even more difficult to comment. However, it's very disappointing to lose by conceding from a set piece, just like in the recent games we lost. In soccer, if you don't score your chances, you can't take points. That's something we need to improve. This kind of loss will definitely be useful in the future, but conceding from a corner kick is a matter of paying attention to details. There are still things we need to do, such as fixing that part. Whether the team is doing well or not, I always make sure to communicate the good and bad points to the players. The fact that we keep conceding in the same way is not a coincidence. We need to overcome this."

[Urawa - Petrovic's press conference summary]
"It was a tough battle between two good teams. We were able to maintain our focus as a team and score points by utilizing set plays. Looking at the content of the game, a draw may have been a fair result, but I am happy that we were able to come out with a win in the end. This type of victory is proof of the quality of our team. We may have taken the top spot in today's game, but some may see it as "how Urawa plays..." However, I believe it is a sign of expectations. Every team comes to play against Urawa with the mindset of wanting to beat us, but that in itself is a testament to our strength."