Despite allowing Kashiwa to dominate, "If Muto scores, we won't lose!"

The match started off with a lot of movement. As the battle for the ball continued, Tokyo picked up the second ball and Hayabusa, Takahashi, and Tokunaga broke through the right side. They won the battle against the opponent's left MF Takayama and broke through, sending a low cross to the center. Just as the opponent's DF tried to clear the ball, Mutoh ran in and pushed the bouncing ball into the goal with his left foot!! With Mutoh's second consecutive goal, they quickly took the lead.

Muto has scored in all 7 league games so far without losing. And by taking the lead, they were mentally ahead, with Kawano passing to the front line in the 8th minute. Edu tried to break through but was sandwiched by the opposing DF, but Takahashi ran in for the loose ball and took a middle shot from the right side. In the 11th minute, Yoshimoto → Muto dribbled powerfully to the front line. He broke through with a one-two with Edu on the left area, but was held back by the Kashiwa DF.

After that, gradually Kashiwa started to increase the scenes where they avoided Tokyo's press. In the 15th minute, Kashiwa attacked from the right side and Tokyo's clearance went to Kashiwa MF Ohtani, who took a shot. In the 19th minute, Kashiwa's right cross was directly passed to MF Takayama. Although it was blocked, Tokyo's defensive line was pushed back and they struggled to connect passes and maintain possession. As a result, Kashiwa was able to dominate possession, but Tokyo's defense remained focused and did not allow any finishes.

The first half additional time was reached while the time spent on defense increased, but Kashiwa DF's pass to the midfield was completely taken by Kawano, who dribbled through the center from slightly to the right. He attracted the DF and made a last pass to Mutoh on the left front. Mutoh, who received the ball at the penalty arc, brought the ball to his left foot with a right foot trap and scored a goal with a shot that took the power out of it! Taking advantage of Kawano's quick defense and switching, they expanded their lead and ended the first half.

Edu scores 2 goals!! He scores 4 points and leads Kashiwa to victory, extending their winning streak.

In the second half, we didn't miss the opponent's gap and took advantage of the chance. In the 49th minute, Edu perfectly dropped Takayuki's early cross and Muto took a shot. It went to the left, but in the following 50th minute, Muto pressed hard against the Kashiwa DF and immediately connected with Kono. Kono took it out to the left and passed it to Edu who had moved up from the far side. Edu broke through the opponent's DF and stabbed the ball into the goal with his left foot! From here, Kashiwa continued to attack, but Tokyo maintained their energy and quick transitions, launching effective counters.

At 66 minutes, Ota went up the side from Kono's development and crossed minus in front of the area. Yonemoto hit a volley, but it goes to the left. In the 73rd minute, Kajiyama replaced Kono. Immediately after that, Takahashi, Muto, and Hanyu exchanged passes in the opponent's territory, and Hanyu → Kajiyama in the center created a momentary pause and returned behind. Although it was once taken by Kashiwa, Yonemoto pressed and Takahashi took it to the left. Ota overlapped and sent a cross aiming between the GK and Kashiwa DF, and here Edu jumped in and took a direct shot with his left foot in front of the Kashiwa DF! The powerful ball bounced off the opponent's GK's hand and was decided by Edu's second goal, pushing Kashiwa away.

Substituted Watanabe for Edu in the 80th minute. Substituted Matsuda for Tokunaga, who had been in fierce competition, in the 88th minute. We tried to close the game by creating our own time zone. However, Kashiwa did not give up and launched a counterattack. In the 89th minute, Kudo, who was on the left side of the area, slipped through the Tokyo DF with delicate passing and took a shot from the area. It was decisive, but Konda made a save! In addition, Ohtani hit the post with a middle shot. In additional time, Kashiwa MF Dudu entered the right area and took a shot at FW Leandro in the center, but it missed the frame and avoided danger. Time up.

There were moments when Kashiwa was pushed back, but Tokyo skillfully took advantage of openings and scored four goals, while also keeping a clean sheet on defense, leading to another consecutive victory following the previous match.

[Player Comments]
《Tokunaga》
「The opening scene was well done by Muto, so it was easy to combine the cross. However, personally, I think it is more important to keep a clean sheet as a defensive player than to assist. There was also a time when we were pushed back by Kashiwa, but I believed that there would be a chance if we could exploit their weaknesses.」

"Ota"
"We were able to play the game as planned. Kashiwa connects passes, but we believed that if we could overcome that, space would open up. We were able to score the first goal early on and then scored a second goal right before the end of the first half, which was a very difficult time for the opponent. Even when we were pushed back, no one panicked and I think we were perfect throughout the first and second half. In the second half, space opened up and I think I was able to play as an individual, using others and also being active."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
　"As you all saw, the result of 4-0 today speaks for itself. We were able to take the lead, which made it easier to control the game afterwards. We were able to withstand difficult moments and had some great counter-attacks after winning the ball. There were also some fantastic plays from Tokunaga's crosses and Ota's fourth goal. Kashiwa is a team that always wins titles every year. I don't think they are in a bad state this season either. I am truly satisfied that we were able to achieve such a result against such a strong opponent."

[Kashiwa - NELSINHO's coach press conference summary]

"I think I have to take full responsibility for today's result. In order to play against Tokyo, I placed FW Kudo's position further forward than usual in order to prevent their defender Takahashi or one of their fullbacks from functioning and to limit their attacking work. However, this ended up creating space for them to pass the ball. After the first goal, the team recovered well. We were able to execute our game plan, especially in attack, and even created some chances to score. However, I think the second goal just before halftime was quite damaging. There were also some mistakes that led to goals, but instead of blaming them, I think it was my own judgement that was wrong today."