Aim for victory by raising the defensive awareness of all players and suppressing goals conceded.

Sec. 30 of the league, which will be played in 3 days since the previous match. Away game against Gamba Osaka. In the Hiroshima match, we marked multiple goals for the first time in 3 games and grabbed a victory. The ranking remains 6th, but the point difference with 3rd place is "6". In preparation for this match, we have had 2 days of closed training sessions considering the consecutive games. Manager Massimo explained his intention, saying, "I wanted to focus on tactics in a short period of time." Tokyo will continue to start Canini as a CB. Mita will be in the midfield, and Watanabe will be in the front line. We will face the match with a 4-1-2-3 formation, with Kono playing as an attacking midfielder.

G Osaka, who is currently in second place with 52 points. Although they lost to Kashiwa in the previous match, they were on a 7-game winning streak before that and in great form. With their momentum, Tokyo players are becoming more cautious, saying that they are "currently the strongest team". G Osaka has scored a total of 51 points so far, ranking second in the league. As you may know, FW Usami and PATRIC have been showing outstanding scoring abilities, but on the other hand, they have also conceded a total of 28 points, which is the fourth lowest in the league. It can be said that they have a good balance between offense and defense. In terms of the lineup, CB Kim has been chosen to replace DF Iwashita, who is suspended. In addition, DF Fujiharu and MF Abe will start on the bench. MF Endo and Imamura will form a double pivot in midfield, with MF Kurata and Omori on the wings.　

On the other hand, Tokyo, who has the league's fewest goals conceded (25), will rely on their usual strong defense to find opportunities to attack their opponents. It will be crucial to not give G Osaka's attacking line any space, and to pay close attention to the attacking runs of MF Endo and the fullbacks. The goal is to raise the defensive awareness of all players and first and foremost, prevent conceding goals.

The match kicked off at 19:04 in Tokyo at the Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium in Osaka, with mild weather neither hot nor cold.

DF line, without showing any gaps, into the second half with a scoreless tie

In the 9th minute of the match, from a loose ball in the midfield by G Osaka, FW Usami sprinted through the left side space and made a last pass to the near side of the goal. Although it was tightly packed, Gonda made a one-handed save! The loose ball was cleared again with persistence and escaped to a corner kick. After that, G Osaka gave away consecutive corner kicks, but in the end, it ended with a missed shot and Tokyo escaped the danger.

15 minutes have passed and we had a chance to restart at the beginning, but we couldn't take advantage of it. Gradually, we are allowing G Osaka to dominate the ball. In the 19th minute, Tokyo attacks. Muto, who broke through the front line, was surrounded by the opponent's DF and managed to turn around and take a direct shot, but it was saved by the GK.

In the 21st minute, G Osaka quickly switched to an attack after losing the ball in the midfield. FW Usami aimed a powerful shot from mid-range, but it went wide to the right. In the following 22nd minute, G Osaka's left FW Usami passed to Patrick in the right area. They played a one-two and Usami sent a decisive final pass to the left area, but Tokunaga slid in to clear the ball just before Usami could shoot! The ball went out for a corner kick, which they defended. 30 minutes have passed, and while Tokyo has not shown any defensive weaknesses, they have not been able to move the ball forward. They couldn't pick up the second ball and were pushed back by G Osaka, who took control. In the 32nd minute, they had a chance with a free kick. It was from a distance of just under 30 meters, but Ota went for a direct shot. He sent the ball flying towards the top right corner, but the opponent's GK made a save.

At 38 minutes, G Osaka FW Usami dribbled into the right area and made a last pass to the far side. The ball was received in the left area and a shot was taken, but it was blocked in front of the goal. The rebound went back to the right side and both sides attacked, but they defended tenaciously! At 43 minutes, Mita held on to the left front line and crossed to the goal. In the center of the area, Mutoh attempted a bicycle kick, but it was saved by the opposing goalkeeper.

Additional time, G Osaka FW Usami breaks through the left side and makes a decisive last pass in front of the goal. However, Canini cuts it off. The ball hits the previous Yonemoto and gives a left CK, but G Osaka fouls in this CK situation. Kanda is injured. G Osaka took the lead and continued to struggle. Even when they took the ball in their own half, they couldn't connect it to the front. They couldn't take advantage of the few counterattacks and set plays. However, the defense line held strong and kept the scoreless into the second half. But in the last play, Kanda was injured and taken off the pitch on a stretcher...

Unable to win consecutively due to lack of strength...

Substitute Shioda for the injured Gonda from the start of the second half. In the 48th minute of the game, G Osaka's right side FW Usami dribbled up and increased speed with a one-two with FW Patrick in the center of the area, breaking through to the right area. A decisive shot was taken, but it narrowly missed the outside of the side net...

53 minutes, Takahashi's vertical pass is cut off and G Osaka's attack begins. They try to regain possession in their own right, but Takahashi is pushed and falls. There is no foul by G Osaka here. The loose ball is picked up by G Osaka MF and played to the right, where MF Omori takes a precise ground shot in front of the right area... and they concede a goal.

59 minutes, Tokyo substitutes Kono and Mita for Edu and Matsuda. However, right after the substitution, G Osaka's MF Endo takes a direct free kick that was given before the substitution. And from an impossible angle, he skillfully kicks it directly into the near post... and we lost our second goal.

After that, Tokyo's formation is a 3-back with Tokunaga on the right, Morishige on the left, and Canini in the center. Matsuda and Ota on the wings. Takahashi and Yonemoto as double defensive midfielders. EDU up front, with Watanabe on the right and Muto on the left in a 3-4-3 formation. In the 66th minute, Tokyo attacks. Ota's early cross goes to the far side, over Watanabe, and Matsuda on the outside pushes it in from the goal line for a GOAL!! Matsuda's first professional goal brings Tokyo within one!!

76 minutes, Matsuda on the right front line, Takahashi also moves up, and from the pass exchange there, Watanabe in a slightly withdrawn position takes a controlled middle shot, but it is blocked by the goalkeeper on the lower left... As the difficult situation continues, all player substitutions have been used and the formation has been changed to take advantage of Matsuda's first goal to close the gap to one point... Unable to create any real chances against G Osaka's skillful game management. Unable to overcome their strength and unable to continue their winning streak, they have fallen to 7th place in the rankings.

【Player Comments】
《Matsuda》
"I'm happy to score my first goal, but I can't be completely happy. To be honest, the frustration of losing is bigger. As for the goal, I believed that the ball would definitely come and I jumped behind Mr. Watanabe. Mr. Ota sent it to me with his right foot just as I expected, and I was able to touch it well. I came on as a substitute and tried to change the flow of the game, so I think it was good that I was able to do that a little bit."
However, we also needed to have more movements to draw out the ball and improve the quality of our movements to target the opponent's back.

"Ota"
"I think we were able to take care of the space behind G Osaka's FW Patrick, but rather than G Osaka... we couldn't calm the game down ourselves. There were a lot of mistakes overall and we were in a hurry. We couldn't play the kind of soccer where we make time and attack simply from the side. It felt like we couldn't do anything for 90 minutes... It was a restless 90 minutes. There should be things that become visible in this kind of defeat, but I think we need to show a stronger mentality and intensity in challenges that anyone can understand. I want to work harder with a stronger mentality to win the remaining four games."

[Press Conference Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI, Manager]
"I think the first half was well balanced. There wasn't much space, but we were able to execute our tactics well. The opponent had a few chances, and we also had some chances. After that, Kanda, who received a dangerous foul, got injured. In the second half, Shioda came on as a substitute and was able to get into the game well. There were some mistakes, but we were able to react well afterwards. We were able to score one goal back and the team fought until the end with the belief of winning. That is a great pride for the team and we were able to show our never-give-up attitude. We can learn from experienced teams like G Osaka and Urawa. We want to use this experience to continue growing. It is definitely necessary for our growth."

[G Osaka, Manager Hasegawa's Press Conference Summary]
"Despite it being a Sunday, many supporters came to Expo'70. It was great to be able to present a victory in front of those supporters, as the players worked hard until the end. Today's game was very important. We had lost the previous game and we knew we couldn't afford to lose any more games, so we expected FC Tokyo to have a strong defense and for it to be a difficult game. I think we were able to play aggressively from the start. In particular, FW Usami's speed was fantastic. We just needed to score a goal. Not only FW Usami, but also MF Imamura, MF Endo, and DF Kan, who came on as a substitute, all stayed focused until the end. Including the bench, the team came together as one and were able to defeat FC Tokyo today."