Welcoming the home opener, a battle focused on earning 3 points.

The home opener of this season will be against Yokohama F.Marinos. In the previous match, despite being down 2 points, Muto scored 2 goals. The players who came on as substitutes brought momentum and brought about a dramatic draw. Considering they were playing against the reigning champions in an away game, it was a valuable point earned. However, Hanyu said, "In order for that point to mean something, we need to win this match," and this match will be a crucial one where they will focus on the "result" as they start at home at Ajinomoto Stadium.

Yokohama FM, on the other hand, has started a new season with French coach Erick Mombaerts at the helm. Despite losing MF Nakamura before the season, coach Massimo is wary, saying "We still have experienced players and are a tough team." They conceded 3 goals in the opening match against Kawasaki Frontale, but their defense, led by DF Nakazawa and Kurihara, boasts height and strength. Whether they can break through this solid defense and score goals will be the key to this match. In addition, Yokohama FM has added U-22 Brazilian national team FW Ademilson to their squad. He has just joined the team this week, so there are many unknowns including his condition, but Konda has vowed to "not focus on him alone and prevent goals as a team."

Tokyo will face the same lineup as the previous match, with no changes in the starting and substitute players. However, the center back pairing will be Canini on the right and Morishige on the left. Yokohama FM will have the highly anticipated FW Ademilson starting. He will form a two-top with FW Saito, while MF Hyodo will play on the sides in a 4-4-2 formation.

Ajinomoto under cloudy skies, with 30,492 spectators gathered in the stands, kicked off in Tokyo at 2:05 PM.

Controlled the ball and advanced the game in the opponent's territory, but...

Tokyo dominated the ball from the start and pushed Yokohama FM back. In the 6th minute, Ota picked up the clearance from Ota's cross in the left area and tried to aim for goal, but was blocked by the DF and only got a corner kick. They connected this right corner kick with a short pass, and Ota's right cross went over Canini's head, with Maeda waiting in the far post to try and score. In the 13th minute, Ota and Yonemoto created opportunities on the left side, and Kono crossed from the inside. Maeda tried to finish the ball that floated after hitting the opponent's DF, but was unable to take a shot.

At 15 minutes, Yokohama FM's FW Edmilson dribbled past FW Saito, but Kono quickly returned to defend and cut it off. In the 16th minute, on a FK situation from the right side for Yokohama FM, MF Fabio headed the ball sharply from MF Fujimoto's kick. At 20 minutes, FW Edmilson from Yokohama FM received a vertical pass at the right corner of the area and brought it forward, then turned and took a shot. However, all of these were safely handled by Konda.

29 minutes, Tokyo creates their biggest chance of the first half. Yonemoto, who has moved up, steals the ball on the left side and brings it into the area.
DF pulled in a narrow space, and Mutoh shoots right behind. While being blocked by the opposing DF, the ball rolls to the fingertips of the GK. However, it narrowly missed the frame and resulted in a CK. In the 38th minute, Yonemoto on the right side → Tokunaga made a combination and tried to pass to Hayashi who ran into the area directly, but the timing was just off. In the end, Yonemoto sent an early cross to the far post, but Mutoh couldn't control it and it went out of bounds.

The number of shots recorded was only one, as they were blocked by the opponent's DF, but they were able to advance the game advantageously. However, they were unable to make the most of their chances and the score remained tied at the end of the first half.

Unable to grasp the first victory of the season with two consecutive draws

Tokyo continued to attack from Ota's cross in the second half. In the 51st minute, they developed from the left area to the center and then to the right, and eventually earned a corner kick on the right side. From this kick by Ota, Mutoh made a perfect header, but it hit the crossbar and did not go into the goal.

Immediately after that, in the 54th minute, Canini's pass was loose while pushing up into the opponent's territory after cutting off the opponent's CK. Yokohama FM quickly moved to the right front line. Although Tokunaga was taking care of Saito, he was brought into the middle and a perfect pass was sent to MF Hyodo who had jumped out to the center of the area at the perfect timing. It was a complete scoring opportunity with a 1-on-1 against Konda, but MF Hyodo's shot was saved by Konda and escaped to a CK! Next, the clear from this left CK fell to the center to Yokohama FM's MF Hyodo... This was also a decisive moment, but Konda saved the day with a series of big saves.

After this, the tide turned towards Yokohama FM, but in the 57th minute, Higashi replaced Kono. In the 66th minute, Takahashi was substituted for Hanyu, forming a double pivot with Kajiyama. The formation changed to a 4-4-2 with Yonemoto on the right side and Higashi on the left. However, they lost the ball frequently due to Yokohama FM's pressure, and were unable to move forward. Before the 80th minute, the formation changed again to a 4-3-3 with Kajiyama as the anchor, Yonemoto and Takahashi as the inside halves, and Higashi joining the front line.

In the final stage, both teams showed an attacking attitude, and Tokyo also had 7 chances for a corner kick in the second half, pushing Yokohama FM into their own goal. However, they were unable to break through the opponent's solid defense until the end. The match ended in a scoreless draw and they were unable to secure their first victory.

[Player Comments]
"Pim"
"We wanted to win our home opener, especially after drawing in the previous match. Although we ended up with a scoreless draw at home this time, the game was different from the previous one. We will continue to work hard and take one step closer to victory. The second half was more open. We also pushed forward and left space behind us. We expected Yokohama FM to create several chances because they have speed up front. It was good that we were able to stop them, but we didn't give them many chances besides that one. That was because every member of the team put their bodies on the line and stayed focused. I also want to thank my teammates for that."

"Muto"
"Although many people came to the home opening game, I feel frustrated that we couldn't score our chances. In the previous game, Yokohama FM's side backs were playing in a high position, so we were conscious of using that space. However, when the game started today, that space was taken away and we were well contained. We didn't have many shots, but the defense worked hard to prevent us from conceding, and I think we were able to play the way we wanted to. We just need to improve our finishing. That's what I want to overcome."

[Press Conference Summary by Massimo FICCADENTI, Manager]
"Regarding the first half, Yokohama FM started the game defensively and we pressed from a relatively high position. The content was good and we were able to possess the ball well. However, there were still some areas where our final quality and combination were lacking. Aside from that, I think we dominated the ball in all time zones in the first half, while the opponent was only aiming for counters. We were able to make a good start in the second half as well, but we conceded a counter from a pass mistake during a corner kick and faced a pinch. There was a great save by Kanda, but the flow of the game changed from there. It's a shame to give it away to the opponent. We need to make sure to fix that. However, we must not forget that Yokohama FM is a team with very high quality. New FW player Edmilson also showed some interesting plays in this game. We must also consider the opponent's quality."
(In the first half, we created chances from the left side with crosses, etc. There were fewer chances from the right side, but?)
On the left side, we were able to show Ota's strength of high-quality crosses. On the right side, Tokunaga went up multiple times, but due to the continuation of short passes and other small plays, we fell into the opponent's trap. I thought Yokohama FM would come out in a more open formation, but with 4 defenders staying back and sometimes even midfielders becoming defenders, we were completely shut down. In this situation where space was completely eliminated, it was difficult to quickly connect crosses from the left side, and it became a tough situation.

[Yokohama FM - Coach Erick Mombaerts' Press Conference Summary]
"Tokyo is a good team, but I am satisfied that we were able to create many scoring chances against them. It was good to get our first points in the league, but looking back at the game, we had many opportunities to score and could have won. In that sense, it could be considered that we lost two points, but I want to praise the opponent's goalkeeper for that. I am not satisfied with the result, but I am satisfied that the players showed a winning attitude until the end. FW Ademilson has only had one week to prepare and has played well despite not having ideal conditions such as a long trip. I believe that in a few more weeks, he will be able to show his true abilities and his technique, speed, and creative play will enhance the team's strength."