Last league match before the break, want to finish with a win

The 14th round will be held as the last league match before the World Cup break. We will face Gamba Osaka at home. In the previous round, we had the most shots of the season with 22, but ended up with no goals and a draw. We have not been able to score in the last four games and have not been able to secure a victory. However, coach Massimo said, "The players are playing well and have a strong mentality. That's why it's important to prepare as much as possible for a victory and break through this situation as a team."

Therefore, for this match, Edu and Muto will be used as FW, and Mita will be used in the midfield. The coach explained, "There are both positive and negative aspects to making changes in player selection when the team is playing well. However, we are well prepared as a team, so we will make some changes."

G Osaka, which returned to J1 this season, is currently in 11th place. They have the same record as Tokyo with 4 wins, 3 draws, and 6 losses, but they have a better goal difference of 1. Under the second year of coach Hasegawa's leadership, they started the season with trial and error, but with the return of FW Usami and the emergence of MF Abe, they have gradually shown their strength.

MF Endo and Konno were also selected as World Cup members. Today's match between Morishige and Gonda, known as the "Japan national team showdown," is one of the highlights. Morishige said, "We should be able to get closer to victory by enduring against the attacking G Osaka," and aims to win by utilizing the style they have built up.

Ajinomoto, where the weather was refreshing and coolness could be felt in the evening, the match started at 6:04 PM with G Osaka's kickoff.

Edu, Muto meets expectations, lightning-fast consecutive goals

The match started moving early on. Tokyo took a throw-in less than 30 seconds after the kickoff. From this flow, Tokunaga fed the ball to the front line. Muto then connected it in the area, and Kono dribbled and rushed to the right area. He pulled the opponent's defender and made a precise pass to the center. Edu scored a GOAL!! by directly hitting it. They took the lead by taking advantage of the gap in G Osaka's defense.

Not only that, in the 2nd minute, Muto cut off the opponent's pass on the left side line and passed it to Kono, who then drove forward. Kono received a heel pass and dribbled into the left area, shooting the ball under the near side of the opponent's DF! The pressing from the front line and the energetic attack were effective, quickly giving them a 2-point lead.

However, after that, G Osaka regained their composure and gradually grasped the rhythm. In response, Tokyo changed their formation. Mutoh on the left side, Yonemoto on the right side. They tried to make adjustments by switching to a 4-4-1-1 formation with Takahashi and Mita as the defensive midfielders. However, they still allowed G Osaka to dominate possession and there were even moments where they were able to enter the area. In the 24th minute, G Osaka's MF Abe made a breakthrough on the right side, but Mita was able to cut it off with a sliding tackle. Even when the ball was in the air, they remained focused and Takahashi was able to head it out for a corner kick. In the 30th minute, G Osaka created a chance from a corner kick, but DF Nishino's header from MF Endo's right corner kick was saved by Ota. In the 32nd minute, G Osaka's FW Kurata took a shot from the right area, but it was saved by Gonda.

After scoring, we were unable to bring the ball to a shot, but our defense remained focused. On the contrary, in the 45th minute, G Osaka MF Konno's vertical pass was slid by Yoshimoto. This clearance flew into the opponent's territory, and Edu tried to break through to the front line. However, he was sandwiched between two opposing defenders and was momentarily pulled back, unable to control the ball. Muto, who had run a long distance for the loose ball, closed in and tried to aim for the goal in the center of the area, but was blocked... The first half ended with a score of 2-0.

Edu secures the victory and grabs the first win in 5 games with a clean sheet!

G Osaka brought in MF Futagawa in the second half. In the 47th minute, he was able to break through the left rear of Tokyo DF and take a shot from the left area, but Tokyo blocked it with their bodies. However, they were counterattacked and there was a sense that the next goal would decide the match. But in the 52nd minute, Muto pressed G Osaka's DF line. They couldn't take it here, but Takahashi took advantage of a loose pass from DF to MF Endo and passed it directly to Edu in front of the area. Edu, near the penalty arc, controlled the ball with a trap and turned around. He then scored a powerful left-footed shot just past the right post, securing the third goal to decide the match.

After 55 minutes, a gap appeared in the G Osaka DF and Tokyo gained a chance for a FK from consecutive pass misses. However, in the 56th minute, Ota's FK from just outside the right area hit the bar... After picking up the second ball, Kono took a shot from the left area but it was blocked.

Afterwards, G Osaka substituted MF Okazaki for DF Iwashita. MF Konno regained composure by moving to DF and launched a counterattack with "typical" passing. In response, Tokyo brought in Higashi in the 68th minute and Hayashi in the 77th minute. They once again pushed Muto to the front and deployed Higashi and Hayashi on both sides to respond. They defended their own goal firmly and launched sharp counters.

In the 84th minute, the opponent's cross was cleared and a counter attack was initiated. Hayashi went up the left side and timed a through pass to the front line. Muto skillfully broke through and entered the left area. Edu and Takahashi were also up in the center, but Muto's pass was intercepted and resulted in a corner kick. Although the fourth goal was not scored, G Osaka's counterattack was shut down by the defense. With an outstanding performance and game strategy, they secured their first win in 5 games and ended the last league match before the break.

[Player Comments]
"Edu"
"I am happy that I was able to score 2 goals as a starter and that the team won. In the past few games, the team has struggled to score. Today, I was able to score a goal early on and I think that first goal gave the team confidence and courage. Furthermore, it was good that we were able to score another goal quickly. We have had good games but have not been able to get results. We need to reflect on what is missing and make corrections during the break. With the Nabisco Cup, we want to make a comeback in the second half of the league."

"Muto"
"(Regarding scoring) I was originally good at that kind of shot, but since becoming a professional, I've also been passing a lot. I felt like I was lacking a bit of greediness, so I'm really happy that I was able to score. I also saw Edu, who was free on the right. However, since I brought it all the way there, I aimed for it. Today, everyone on the team was trying to score with a strong mindset. I was also able to keep pushing until the end with my specialty, dribbling."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"I didn't expect to start like this, but I think the players' desire to win was conveyed to everyone. In the last few games, it was disappointing that we couldn't take points despite playing well enough to win, but I am grateful that the players maintained a high level of professionalism and gave their all. When it became 2-0, G Osaka became more aggressive, so it became a game of attacking the space behind. We created 6-7 clear chances, and scoring 3 goals from those was efficient. G Osaka has many technically skilled players, especially their two defensive midfielders are very good. We knew that when their center back had the ball, their fullbacks would push up and the play would go through the midfield. Today, their fullbacks may not have been in high positions, but we pressed them well. After scoring two goals, their fullbacks started to push up higher, so we changed our system to 4-4-1-1. The players had a good understanding of the tactics and adapted quickly. This is the result of always approaching the game with focus. G Osaka is a strong and good team, and considering their abilities, our current points may not be deserving, but our performance today was very good."

[G Osaka - Manager Kenji Hasegawa's Press Conference Summary]
"The two goals at the beginning were everything. When facing Tokyo, they had momentum from the start and if we become passive, we will lose. We talked about focusing and playing at our own pace, but we were beautifully beaten. We sent out the message of "if we can score one goal..." for the second half, but we ended up conceding from a mistake. However, even after conceding two goals, we continued to play our own soccer and were able to bring it to the point of "if we can score one goal". Even after conceding the third goal, the players continued to fight until the end without losing focus. It's disappointing and frustrating that we couldn't win in Kanto with so many supporters coming to cheer us on. We had come this far in a good shape, so we wanted to end the first half with a good game, but today we were beaten by Tokyo. However, we have the Nabisco Cup coming up soon, so we want to switch our mindset and continue to fight."