2nd stage begins. Aim for victory with attacking soccer!

　The 2nd stage begins today. The first match is against Cerezo Osaka away. FC Osaka finished last in the 1st stage with 2 wins, 4 draws, and 9 losses. Shinji KOBAYASHI is the new coach, and they will fight to remain in J1 by acquiring FW Furuhashi and new foreign players FW Miki and MF Mario as new forces. It is very important for Tokyo to win this match and make a strong start in order to aim for the championship.

　Tokyo has not lost since 2000 when they were promoted to J1 with 8 consecutive wins in the opening match of each stage, and they want to continue their winning streak. The team's atmosphere is also good with 1 win and 1 draw against strong opponents in the Spain expedition and the Rome match, and Japan national team members Doi and Kaji, who won the Asian Cup, have returned to the team with confidence to face the opening match. In addition, Kelly, who only played 4 games due to injury in the 1st stage, will return to the starting lineup and can expect an increase in scoring power in combination with Lucas.

Tadashi BABA's goal early in the game couldn't ride the wave

　As instructed in the meeting, Tokyo aggressively attacks from the beginning. In the midfield, they securely connect passes and spread the ball to both sides, Kagawa and Kanazawa, to launch side attacks. Then, in the 6th minute, they earn a corner kick on the right side, and the kicker Kurizawa's fast ball is directly cleared by the opponent's defender. However, Kanazawa wins the ball in the center with a header. The ball falls at Jean's feet, and he shoots with his right foot from inside the left penalty area. The opponent's defender fails to clear the ball properly. It falls right in front of Baba, who dives and heads it. The ball shakes the net and goes into the goal, and Tokyo takes the lead at an ideal time.

　C Osaka also allowed the first goal, but the two top players, Nishizawa and Furuhashi, who have the ability to keep the ball, put the ball in early and troubled the Tokyo DF with direct passes. In the 9th minute, Nishizawa passed the ball to Furuhashi, who had timed his run well, with a header from MF Hamada's middle pass. Although the goal frame was not captured, the rhythm of the attack gradually increased. Then, in the 11th minute, C Osaka picked up a pass miss from Kelly on the left side, and MF Tokushige dribbled through the center and took a powerful long shot. Doi saved the ball, but it spilled in front of the goal, and Furuhashi, who was closing in, pushed it into the goal to equalize.

　Tokyo is struggling to score additional points. In the 35th and 36th minutes, there was a flowing pass exchange between Kelly and Lucas in the center, but they couldn't make it to the shot, and the rhythm of the attack hasn't been established. In the 39th minute, Kajiyama forcefully attempted a central breakthrough with a dribble and aimed for a shot from outside the penalty area, but missed the target by a wide margin. Amidst the stalemate, a goal was born in the 41st minute by taking advantage of a momentary gap in the visibly tired C Osaka. Kanazawa throws the ball in the C Osaka's half. Baba keeps the ball while carrying the opponent's defender on his back and returns the pass to Kanazawa, who ran up the left side. Despite being approached by the opponent's defender, Kelly, who was running in, did not miss the low trajectory centering and pushed it into the goal with his right foot, scoring an additional point. Tokyo led at halftime.

Despite Takumi Abe's fine goal as a substitute, they take the lead

　In the second half, the first chance comes to C Osaka. In the 51st minute, Morishima breaks through the center with a direct pass from Hamada and takes a shot from outside the penalty area with great force. Tokyo is saved by the goalpost. Tokyo also breaks the opponent's side with individual skills from Kurizawa and Kelly on the right side, but it doesn't become a decisive chance. In the absence of attacking options from both sides, C Osaka starts to make a move. In the 54th minute, FW Koke is substituted for MF Tokushige to increase the number of attacks and score goals. Tokyo also quickly passes the ball they have stolen to Lucas in the front line and starts a counterattack.

In the 57th minute, Kurisawa dribbled up and hit the ball to Lucas, who dropped it and took a direct shot. Unfortunately, it hit the bar. Also, Kajiyama intercepted the ball in the midfield and quickly made a long feed to Kurisawa. Kurisawa ran up the right side and crossed it to the center, but the opponent's defender cut it off and earned a corner kick. Kurisawa himself took the kick and Jarn headed it towards the goal. Unfortunately, it went over the goal. It seemed that the pace was gradually shifting towards Tokyo, but instead, C Osaka had a chance to score. In the 63rd minute, taking advantage of a momentary lapse in marking, Hamada passed the ball from the center to Morishima, then Nishizawa, and the ball that was initially touched by the Tokyo DF was left as it was and Hamada took a powerful long shot. The score was tied.

　Now Tokyo is moving. In the 66th minute, ABE was substituted for Kelly, who showed signs of fatigue. Tokyo also aimed to take the lead and changed to an attacking formation, which turned out to be a perfect substitution. In the 70th minute, ABE passed the ball to Lucas, who had drifted to the left side from a counterattack. ABE then passed the ball again to ABE, who had sprinted up the center after keeping the ball, and ABE calmly aimed and shot from outside the penalty area, taking advantage of the opponent's goalkeeper's position. The ball pierced the right side net of the goal, resulting in a fine goal and Tokyo successfully took the lead for the third time.

Allowing a comeback to C Osaka who never gives up until the end

　C Osaka did not give up even when they were overtaken. In the 76th minute, DF Nuno, who came on as a substitute, threw the ball into the center from the left side FK, and Morishima picked up the loose ball in the penalty area after a heading contest and rushed towards the goal. Unfortunately, Jean fouled Morishima from behind and gave away a penalty kick. Nishizawa scored it and the score became tied again. With this goal, C Osaka completely regained their momentum and scored the winning goal for the first time on this day in the 79th minute.

　Hamada, who skillfully slipped through on the right side, floats a lob ball to the center. Nishizawa drops it in front of the goal with a header, and Morishima, who made a run, shoots powerfully. Tokyo allows the first lead today. Immediately after, Tokyo substitutes Baba for Yusuke Kondo. And one minute later, Tokyo substitutes Mashima for Miura, and Tokyo launches a final attack, squeezing out their last strength. Kanazawa raises a centering from the left side, and Yusuke Kondo raises a centering from the right side, but the opponent's defender cuts them off by throwing themselves in. In the 85th minute, Jean scores a header shot from a corner kick obtained from Kurisawa's shot. The ball is in front of the opponent's goalkeeper. They continue to attack even in injury time, but ultimately the game ends without any movement. It was a fierce battle for points, but Tokyo lost to C Osaka, who gave their all until the end.

【Player Comments】《Akira KAJI》"We scored 3 goals but conceding 4 was not good. However, with a few adjustments, we will have no problems in the next match. We scored one goal and got hot, but we let our guard down. I think the team's attacking football that we aim for is good. The defense just needs to keep the opponents from scoring. We want to fight each match rigorously from now on."《Taka Coach》"The balance in midfield was off, and the opponents were able to keep the ball in the front line, which affected our overall rhythm. We may have lost both physically and mentally in the battles. We want to carry today's loss into the next match."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "After the break, C Osaka was very organized. I didn't expect them to come out attacking today, but we couldn't stop their simple and early attacks targeting Nishizawa and Furuhashi. We thought the pace would increase after the second goal, but it didn't, and we couldn't play compact and simple. C Osaka was superior in the ball contests. We created chances by scoring 3 goals, but we conceded too many with 4 goals. The players faced Deportivo and Roma with confidence, but... we couldn't stop C Osaka's desperation. The winning streak from the opening game is gone, but we want to rebuild it once again."

[Summary of Coach Kobayashi's Press Conference at C Osaka] "The biggest point of reflection is that we couldn't defend against crosses and our approach to the game after a month of training. Today, we were able to win with the mental strength of each player, but we need to make adjustments for the next match. However, this victory increases the trust between the players and the team, and it is a significant victory that leads to the next one. I am genuinely happy with today's win."