Put an end to the 9-game winless streak at Away Saitama Stadium

As May arrives amidst a series of consecutive matches, the 11th section of the league is held. Urawa Reds will face off against their opponent away. In the previous section, they were defeated by a single corner kick from Nagoya, and were unable to end their last game at the National Stadium with a victory. However, Coach Massimo stated, "There are areas that need improvement, such as defending against set plays and capitalizing on scoring opportunities, but we showed the determination to not allow any additional goals and to continue fighting until the end. We will make the necessary adjustments and look forward to starting anew."

This round, which we will face in 3 days, "The balance for approaching the match has changed, and there should be fatigue, but the story is different for each game. We have prepared anew as usual," he continued. Therefore, considering the countermeasures against Urawa and the consecutive matches, Kaga is appointed as the center back and Muto as the forward. On the team sheet, it is a 4-4-2 formation, but Hirayama is at the forefront, with Watanabe and Muto on both sides forming a front three. Additionally, Takahashi aims for victory by serving as a defender when defending.

Urawa, who is currently in 4th place with 19 points, is facing Petrovic's team in his third year as coach. Under his guidance, they have developed their own style with a 3-4-2-1 formation, with midfielder Abe as the starting point for build-up play. They are a strong team that always competes at the top. In particular, they have forwards Li, midfielder Okazaki, and Haraguchi, who can individually break through defenses, so first and foremost, we want to prevent them from finishing. At the same time, in the previous match, Li scored a goal from a corner kick and helped Urawa defeat Yokohama FM, showing their ability to win tough matches.

For Tokyo, the away game against Urawa at Saitama Stadium 2002 has not been a victory since 2004, for 9 consecutive matches. However, in the last 2 seasons' matches against Urawa, they have had 1 win and 3 draws, surpassing the opponent. The coach says that the most important thing to do in order to win a close match is to "minimize mistakes in both offense and defense." It is a match where they want to maintain concentration for the full 90 minutes and put an end to the dishonorable record.

In the middle of Golden Week, under perfect weather conditions for watching, the match started with Urawa's kickoff at 16:04.

Unable to take advantage of early opportunities, but... Urawa grabs the rhythm...

Immediately after the kickoff, they took the ball from Urawa and launched a fast attack. Muto broke through to the left front line with a powerful dribble. In the final pass in front of the goal, Watanabe shot, but it was blocked by the opponent's defender, resulting in a corner kick. In the 4th minute, Urawa switched the ball from the left side to the right front line. The ball went over Ota's head and reached Urawa's right midfielder, Umezaki. He took a shot from the right area, but Gonda saved it with his left foot. In the 7th minute, they pressed from the front line and forced a pass error from Urawa's defenders. Watanabe aimed for a shot, but it went straight to the goalkeeper.

In the early stages, both teams applied intense pressure and competed for possession of the ball. There were many instances of losing the ball, resulting in a frantic pace of play. However, gradually, they became unable to break through the defense. Urawa maintained control of the game for a period of time, but the midfielders displayed strong defensive awareness and, led by Takahashi and Kaga, held their ground in front of the goal, preventing any goals from being conceded.

On the contrary, taking advantage of Urawa's gap, in the 38th minute, Watanabe in the right area received a cross from Tokunaga on the right side and immediately shot, but it went wide to the right. In the 43rd minute, Mutoh snatched the loose ball in the midfield and rushed forward. He successfully outpaced the opponent's defenders with his speed, but couldn't bring the ball into the penalty area for a shot. He cut back against the pursuing Urawa defenders and passed to Watanabe in the center. He created a decisive opportunity, but the shot went straight to the goalkeeper... Although they couldn't capitalize on the chance, they showed no weaknesses in defense and went into the second half with a scoreless draw.

They took the initiative and attacked, but once again conceded a goal from a set play...

In the second half, Tokyo dominated the ball from the beginning. In the 48th minute, they passed the ball in the opponent's half, looking for a chance. Kaga pushed up the field and took a shot from the space. In the 52nd minute, Takahashi supported the attacking line and moved forward. From there, they connected persistently, and Tokunaga on the right side circled inside and aimed for the goal from just in front of the left area. However, the powerful shot hit the left post... In the 55th minute, Hirayama in the center of the area received a pass from the left side, broke through the Urawa DF, and took a decisive shot, but it went slightly to the right...

Unable to take advantage of scoring opportunities, the ball was gradually taken away in a struggling attacking form, resulting in a counterattack by Urawa. As a result, Kono was substituted in the 61st minute. However, in the 65th minute, Urawa sent a floating ball to the front line, and Urawa FW Li made a dash towards the area. He connected a pass to MF Haraguchi, who once again brought the ball into the left area and entered a shooting position, but Takahashi threw himself forward and blocked the shot.

After that, he couldn't pick up the second ball, and in the 79th minute, Urawa MF Kashiwa dribbled into the area, but Kono followed him closely, Kaga covered him, and in the end, it escaped to a corner kick! However, from this left corner kick by Urawa, a sharp kick was sent to MF Kashiwa, and MF Abe jumped in with perfect timing near the goal and stabbed a header... Just like in the previous match, they conceded a goal from a corner kick once again.

In an attempt to equalize, in the 41st minute, Muto broke through the left front line from Kono's pass and forcefully penetrated the area. He passed the defenders and found Yonemoto free in the center to support. However, the shot from this position grazed the defender and resulted in a corner kick... After that, Matsuda and Edu were substituted in, and they continued to strive for a goal without giving up, including the 6 minutes of additional time. However, they were unable to break through Urawa's solid defense and the time was up. Similar to the previous match, they suffered a defeat by conceding a goal from a corner kick.

[Player Comments]
"Kaga"
"It was tough from the second half onwards. However, I think we were able to defend together. We have been losing to Hiroshima, Nagoya, and today through set plays, and we are repeating the same thing. That's why the frustration is even stronger. It's really just a small thing, but it's what's making the difference in the game, and I think we are lacking compared to the opponent. We need to fix that."

"Muto"
"We were able to create many chances from counters and show various variations in our attacks. The defense worked hard to keep the goals against us low, so I wanted to score somehow... As a personal challenge, I want to improve my decision-making between passing and shooting."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"It is difficult to comment even if the match ended in a 0-0 draw. This is because the players played well, created chances, and did not allow the opponents to play as they wanted. It became even more difficult to comment after losing 0-1. However, it is very disappointing to lose by conceding a goal from a set piece, just like in the recent matches we lost. In football, if you don't convert scoring opportunities, you cannot earn points. That is an area that needs improvement. I believe that such defeats will undoubtedly be useful in the future, but conceding from a corner kick is a matter of fine attention to detail. There are still things that need to be addressed and corrected. Whether the team is performing well or poorly, I always make the players aware of the good and bad aspects. The fact that we continue to concede goals in a similar manner is not a coincidence. We must overcome this."

[Summary of Urawa Petrovic's press conference]
"It was a tough battle between two good teams. We were able to fight without losing our focus as a team and score goals by utilizing set plays. Although a draw may have been a fair result considering the content of the match, I am happy that we were able to ultimately achieve victory. This kind of winning style is evidence of the quality of our team. We have taken the top position in today's match, but some may think of it as 'Urawa's way of playing...'. However, I believe that is a sign of expectation. Every team comes to play against Urawa with the intention of giving their all, and that in itself is proof of our strength."