A match aiming for the first victory in the league with an aggressive battle on both offense and defense

Sec. 3 of the league, which comes three days after the Nabisco Cup. We will face Vissel Kobe away on Sunday. In the Nabisco Cup match against Niigata, we changed seven starting players and achieved our first victory of the season with aggressive plays from Ishikawa and Hayashi. We want to use this win and momentum as a springboard for the future. Manager Massimo also commented, "It was a performance that leads to the league," but on the other hand, the preparation period for the match is short. He asked the players to switch their minds and bodies and focus on the next match against Kobe.

Kobe, on the other hand, finished 11th last season. They have also made strides to improve, welcoming new coach NELSINHO this season and adding players such as DF Yasuda, DF Takahashi Sho, and MF Fefugin, as well as FW Watanabe from Tokyo. They have made precise improvements on both offense and defense. At the same time, they aim to make a top finish by utilizing the attacking power of FW Pedro JUNIOR and MF Morioka. They have yet to secure a win with 1 draw and 1 loss so far, but in the previous league match, FW Watanabe and DF Takahashi Sho both scored their first goals since joining the team, showing that the team's situation is improving. In particular, Kobe's MF Morioka is skilled in passing and making runs, and is also capable of taking shots from distance. They hope to shut down the attacking power of FW Watanabe and Pedro JUNIOR by controlling the midfield with players like him, MF Ogawa, and MF Chung Woo-yeon.

Tokyo, Ota, Yonemoto, and Kajiyama, who missed the Nabisco Niigata match, returned to the starting lineup. East, who is in good form, is used in the front line. Muto and two top players, with Kono as the top, are in the lineup. Ishikawa is on the bench for the first time in the league. Maeda is also on the bench. On the other hand, Kobe's FW Marquinhos is not in the squad. DF Iwanami is absent due to the activities of the U-22 Japan national team, but they are expected to come out attacking at home. It will be a tough match where they aim for victory with a persistent and proactive approach in both attack and defense. The match started at 5:04 PM with FC Tokyo's kickoff.

Mori Shige takes the lead with a goal from a set play, leading by one point at halftime!

The match started in the 4th minute. Muto, who tried to make a move forward in the center of the opponent's field, was robbed of the ball and Kobe countered. The ball was passed to the left FW Pedro JUNIOR, who then passed it to the center and ran into the right area where FW Watanabe was running free. However, the Tokyo DF did not allow the sliding tackle and the shot went wide.

15 minutes have passed and both teams have shown an aggressive attitude, with chances for both sides. It was a situation where we wanted to keep the ball a little more in the front and calmly create chances. In the 17th minute, the opponent quickly attacked from their own half and Tokyo's FW Watanabe dribbled up and took a middle shot. It had momentum and was on target, but hit the right post. It was a close call.

The game continued with a back-and-forth development for 33 minutes. Ota's early cross hit the opponent, earning a left corner kick. From Ota's left corner kick, Morishige in the area dropped back and headed the ball into the net on the opposite side for a GOAL!! Taking advantage of the corner kick opportunity, they take the lead!

At the 41st minute, the opponent connected from their own half and sent a ground cross from the left side into the area. Running in from the center to meet it was FW Watanabe, who was then fouled by Kinda as he trapped the ball. This resulted in a penalty kick for Kobe. At the 43rd minute, the opponent's FW Pedro JUNIOR took the penalty kick, but Kinda made a stop!!!! Kinda's fine save saved the day!

Both teams attacked each other from the beginning, and the game continued with a back-and-forth flow. Both teams had chances, but in the 33rd minute, Morishige scored the first goal with a set piece! After that, there was a penalty kick awarded to Kobe, but Gonda made a sharp save and prevented a goal!! The first half ended with a one-point lead.

League's first victory with everyone's focused defense and Muto's goal!

52 minutes into the second half, the opponent's attack. The ball was passed quickly in the front line, but the Tokyo DF couldn't keep up. From a drop ball by Kobe FW Watanabe just outside the area, MF Ogawa broke through on the left and took a decisive shot, but once again, Gonda made a save!

Kobe, who had been pushing forward with momentum by connecting passes quickly to the opponent, was pushed back as 60 minutes had passed. Although the DF line was holding up well, they were unable to connect the ball to the front line even when they managed to take it away. Muto was positioned in the center, with Higashi and Kono taking care of the sides, but they were unable to contain the opponent's midfielders from launching attacks.

68 minutes, Yuya on the right → Kajiyama in the center sends it forward, Mutoh receives it in the middle of the opponent's territory, skillfully avoids the opponent's DF on his back and turns around, and rushes forward with a sharp dribble! He shoots quickly from the right area, and sinks it into the net on the opposite side, GOAL!! GOAL!!

In the 69th minute, Takahashi was substituted for Hanyu. Kajiyama and Hanyu formed a double pivot in midfield. On the wings were Yonemoto and Higashi. Up front, Muto and Kono played in a formation close to 4-4-2. In the 73rd minute, Ishikawa was brought on for Kono, joining Muto up front as a forward.

80 minutes have passed. In the second half, there was a long period of time where Kobe was pushing forward, but Muto used his technique and speed to score an additional goal! Even after extending the lead to 2 points, the opponent continued to fight back, but Tokyo used player substitutions and held on while aiming for counterattacks. In the 82nd minute, Kobe's substitute MF Ishizu used his speed to break through from the right side. He entered the area and was sent a decisive cross, but Morishige made a sharp cover. He escaped the danger with a sliding tackle!

In the first half, Mori Shige scored the first goal from Ota's CK. Kanda stopped the PK and did not allow any goals. In the second half, there was a long time for Kobe's counterattack, but we concentrated together and defended it, and Mutoh got an additional point! The players who were selected for the Japan national team also left a solid result, and we grabbed our first victory in the league.

[Player Comments]
"Muto"
"I felt from the start that it was going to be a tough game. We've been playing with two strikers lately, but I haven't been able to make many dribbles. Even when I tried to drop back and receive the ball, the opponent's pressure was tough, and the coach kept asking me to make simple runs behind the defense. Even today, things didn't go well for me in situations other than scoring. However, my teammates told me to "take advantage of the one chance you get" and I was able to do that in the end, which was good."

"Mori Shige"
"We were able to play a game where we moved the ball from the first half and pressed on the side. There was fear in Kobe's short counter. Also, we were able to attack from the opposite side from the side change, but everyone responded calmly and we were able to score from a set play. The league game was two draws, but there was a certain sense of accomplishment. Of course, there were challenges, but we persevered and continued to believe in what we needed to do. I think today's result was possible because everyone was able to focus on what they needed to do."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
　"First of all, we needed to acknowledge the quality of Kobe. In that regard, I think the players played a fantastic game. In the first half, we had some chances and some scenes where we were close to scoring. In the second half, the opponent became more aggressive, but we were able to score a second goal. After that, we were able to close the game in our own style. I want to praise the players for playing a great game. We are truly satisfied that we were able to play the soccer we wanted to play from all aspects, including physical and tactical aspects."

[Kobe NELSINHO Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"As we had prepared, I think the team was able to play organized football from the first half. We were able to effectively neutralize the opponent's strengths and did not allow any dangerous situations to arise within the flow of the game. However, there was one mistake from a set piece, which allowed the opponent to score due to a positional error. After that, the team regained their rhythm and created chances, even coming close to a penalty kick opportunity, but unfortunately missed it. I spoke to the players about this at halftime, but the only thing that was lacking in this game was the finishing touch. I told the players that there was no need to change anything and sent them back out. In the second half, there was a injury to DF Bueno, which I think affected the team. However, we were still able to continue playing with the same ball possession and rhythm as the first half, but the second goal we conceded due to a mistake was decisive."