Welcoming Nagoya for the long-awaited J1 home opening match

　Sec. 2 will be held as the home opening match at Ajinomoto Stadium, facing Nagoya Grampus. In the previous match, despite being dominated by Omiya, they regrouped and defended the goal scored by Lucas. They will fight with movements that do not show fatigue from consecutive matches and aim to continue the momentum of victory in this match.

　In today's practice, the formation that worked well against Omiya was mainly used. Kajiyama played as an attacking midfielder, and Hasegawa played as a defensive midfielder. The focus was on confirming defensive coordination and strongly emphasizing the intention to "finish with a shot" in order to enhance common understanding. Ishikawa will start in this match, while Yawasawa will start on the bench. Yamamoto will also make his first appearance on the bench this season.

　Nagoya, on the other hand, finished second in the last league. They narrowly missed out on the championship by just 1 point, but they are undoubtedly a dominant team in J1. With skilled players such as GK Narazaki, DF Tulio, MF Danilson, FW Tamada, and others, as well as a stable game strategy and strong competitiveness, it can be said that Nagoya's weapons are their stability in matches and ability to win. In this match, MF Ogawa, Fujimoto, and Nakamura are absent, but they have the speedy player Nagai in the FW position and Yoshimura in the midfield. And of course, the main focus of their attack is FW Kennedy. With his absolute height advantage, it may be difficult to win in one-on-one situations against him. Therefore, they want to prevent conceding goals by not allowing him to receive the ball in a favorable position.

　In the attack, the key is how to shake the tall Nagoya DF and pull them forward. By taking action themselves and minimizing mistakes, they aim to improve accuracy in both offense and defense and achieve victory. The cold rain that had been falling since daytime finally stopped at Ajinomoto Stadium. The match started at 19:04 with Nagoya's kickoff.

Unable to grasp the rhythm, allowing Nagoya to attack and concede a goal...

　Nagoya took control of the rhythm from the beginning. Tokyo couldn't settle the ball in front of Nagoya's tough defense and kept losing it, resulting in long balls being sent to the front line and Kennedy being attacked as the starting point. In the 15th minute, Lucas made a sharp counter-attack and Kajiyama dribbled up, but was defended well by Nagoya's fast defense. In the 20th minute, Ishikawa connected the loose ball from the right corner kick persistently and passed it inside. Kajiyama tried to aim for a goal from the loose ball, but couldn't finish it.

　In the 23rd minute, Lucas, who received a pass from the left side, aimed for a shot but missed the target. As a result, this was the only shot taken by Lucas in the first half. In the 26th minute, after winning a battle in the midfield, Kajiyama -> Ishikawa sprinted down the side and sent a minus pass to the center, but Hasegawa's timing was off when he ran into that area. In the 28th minute, Ishikawa also cut inside and tried to create a chance from a dribble, but there was no space in front of Nagoya DF and he couldn't finish.

　During this time zone, Nagoya Grampus tried to take control of the flow of the game by attacking from the sides with Ishikawa's sharp movements, but they couldn't fully grasp the initiative due to many mistakes. In the midst of this, in the 36th minute, Tokyo sent a pass to the front line with poor accuracy, which was headed by Nagoya DF and connected with one touch. Unable to stop this, Nagoya FW Kennedy in the midfield sent a through pass to the front line. FW Tamada broke through and scored a floating shot after dribbling, accurately assessing the position of GK Konda, resulting in a goal conceded...

　They were unable to create a chance that seemed like a chance and went into the second half trailing by one point.

Nao scored 2 goals, Ariaja scored a comeback header, and scored 3 goals for a comeback victory!

　However, in the second half, they succeeded in regaining their composure by being aware of the distance and positioning between players. Gradually, the passes started to circulate and Tokyo began to find their rhythm. In the 57th minute, Ishikawa on the right side passed to Tokunaga who had moved up the middle, making a vertical pass. Although this pass was cut off and did not lead to a chance, in the immediate 59th minute, a pass was made to Hayashi in front of the goal from Ota in the left area, and he attempted a shot while turning around. The shot was blocked by a defender, but Ishikawa reacted to the loose ball that fell to the right area and firmly stabbed it into the goal with his left foot! They equalized in the early stages of the second half.

　Tokyo, which will take the opportunity to launch an all-out attack. In the 63rd minute, Ishikawa and Hanou connected with precise passes in the front line, and Kajiyama, who had turned around, took a shot. Then, Hasegawa in the center surprised everyone with the timing and passed to Hanou on the right area. Hanou, who received the pass, turned around and took a powerful shot, but it went wide. In the 64th minute, Nagoya brought in DF Daniel and tried to counter with a formation that moved DF Torio forward.

　However, the flow remained the same, and in the 67th minute, Tokyo connected from a corner kick, with Ishikawa on the right side returning the ball to Takahashi in the center. Takahashi then sent a floating pass to the left area. Kaga skillfully headed it back to the center, and Hasegawa, who had perfectly timed his run from the opposite side, scored a high-headed goal to the back! GOAL!! GOAL!! Even after achieving the comeback, they did not let up on their attacking efforts.

　73 minutes, Ota's feed is cleared, and it becomes Nagoya's ball once, but Lucas intercepts by sandwiching the opponent and passes it to Kajiyama in the center. Kajiyama makes a good judgment and sends a through pass to the front line. Nao, who ran in from the left, scores a well-aimed shot and adds a third goal in quick succession! Nagoya is taking a commanding lead.

　Nagoya, who continued to fight, hit the bar with a shot from FW Kennedy from a free kick in the 87th minute. The rebound was kicked in by FW Nagai, allowing the team to catch up, and the end of the game became a hectic development. However, in the 90th minute, Yamamoto was replaced by Kajiyama and brought in as a forward. Yamamoto, who stood on the pitch for the first time in about a year, tried to suppress Nagoya's power play by chasing from the front. In the long 5 minutes of stoppage time, Nagoya DF Danilson received a red card and was sent off.

　The game heated up, but in the 90th minute +7, Hirayama scored. Tokyo calmly defended and welcomed the end of the game, achieving a splendid come-from-behind victory.

　【Player Comment】《Ishikawa》"The team became completely different in the first half and the second half. It was the same in the previous match, and although we were able to make adjustments, that is unfortunate. However, I want to think positively about being able to win at home, and especially in a come-from-behind victory. (Regarding the equalizing goal) I was able to create a good opportunity on the left side, so I tried to support by moving inside. I ran believing that the ball would come here, while also being mindful of my positioning. (Regarding my second goal) I was always conscious of transitioning from defense to attack and the timing of making runs. Above all, the atmosphere at Ajinomoto Stadium was amazing. The supporters fought together with us even in difficult times last season. That's why I want to show that we are getting stronger with each game this season and repay them."

　"Hasegawa: "In the first half, I made a lot of passing mistakes and caused trouble for the team. So in the second half, I was thinking of trying to make up for it somehow. I think I need to show more of an attacking attitude, but I think that led to the goal. Heading is not my strong point, but being able to get into the opponent's area is also one of my strengths. I have played three official matches so far, and I approached them with the same mindset as always, but playing at home is really nice. It was great to have so many supporters come and the atmosphere was amazing. Being able to turn the game around in this way should also be a plus for us."

　[Summary of Coach Popovich's Press Conference] "The result couldn't have been better, but why couldn't we play like we did in the second half from the beginning? In the first half, we showed too much respect to the opponent. We couldn't do what we needed to do and held back our strength. We knew that if we could unleash our power, we could play like we did in the second half, so I can't understand why the first half turned out this way. In terms of the first half, Nagoya had better ball possession and started moving faster. However, once we woke up in the second half, we stuck to our own style of soccer and ultimately scored more points than the opponent to win. I think it was a spectacular match. It became a competition where fans and supporters could enjoy the back-and-forth of scoring points, but the soccer I aim for is to play attractive soccer that everyone can enjoy like this in every match. Today, we were able to show that kind of soccer, and I hope you were satisfied."

　[Nagoya Stojkovic coach's press conference summary] "The obvious thing is that we are not happy. However, I think our soccer was able to be done as a way of thinking. Today, 5 goals were born, but I think it was amazing for those who came to watch. In the first half, we were dominating and we were able to do what we should do as a style. However, in the second half, we stopped playing. Tokyo's first goal was an accidental goal like ping pong, but the 2nd and 3rd goals were from our defensive mistakes. If you make a mistake, you must pay the price. Also, from about 15 minutes into the second half, there was no clear attack and there was confusion in the front line. So we gave Tokyo a chance to counterattack. We must fight until the end with decisiveness and concentration. I think the situation would have changed if we had scored the second goal, but that was far away."