The last league match before the break that I want to end with a victory

Sec. 14 will be held as the last league match before the World Cup break. Gamba Osaka will face them at home. In the previous match, despite taking the most shots of the season with 22, they ended up with no goals and a draw. They have been unable to secure a victory in the last four matches without scoring. However, Coach Massimo said, "The players are continuing to play well and have a strong mentality. That's why it's important to prepare as much as possible for a victory and overcome this situation as a team."

Therefore, in this match, Edu and Muto will be used as forwards, and Mita will be used in the midfield. The coach explained, "There are both positive and negative aspects to making changes in player selection when the team is performing well in matches. However, the team is well prepared, so we will make some minor changes."

G Osaka, which returned to J1 this season, is currently in 11th place. They have the same number of wins, draws, and losses as Tokyo, but their goal difference is higher by 1. Under the second-year leadership of coach Hasegawa, the team went through a trial and error phase at the beginning of the season. However, with the return of forward Usami and the emergence of midfielder Abe, they have gradually shown their strength.

In addition, MF Endo and Imano were selected as World Cup members. Today's match between Morishige and Gonda is also one of the highlights, but Morishige said, "To get closer to victory, we should withstand the attacking Gamba Osaka and overcome the challenges by utilizing our own style that we have built up."

Ajinomoto Stadium, where the weather was refreshing and clear, and a coolness could be felt in the evening, the match started with G Osaka's kickoff at 18:04.

Edu and Muto respond to expectations with a rapid succession of goals

The game started moving early on. Just before 30 seconds after the kickoff, Tokyo threw in. From this flow, Tokunaga fed the ball to the front line. Mutoh, in front of the area, connected it, and Kono rushed to the right area with a dribble. He attracted the opponent's defender and made a precise pass to the center. Edu scored a goal directly!! They took the lead by taking advantage of the gap in G Osaka's defense.

Not only that, but in the 2nd minute, Muto intercepted the opponent's pass on the left side of the line and passed it to Kawano, who then advanced to the front line. Receiving Kawano's heel pass, he dribbled into the left area and made a powerful shot from near the opponent's defender! The pressing from the front line and the energetic attack came to life, quickly taking a 2-point lead.

However, after that, G Osaka regained their composure and gradually grasped the rhythm. In response, Tokyo changed their formation. Mutoh moved to the left side and Yonemoto to the right side. They tried to make adjustments by having Takahashi and Mita serve as defensive midfielders in a 4-4-1-1 formation. However, they still allowed G Osaka to dominate possession and there were moments when they advanced into the area. In the 24th minute, G Osaka's midfielder Abe made a breakthrough towards the right front line, but Mita cut it off with a sliding tackle. They remained focused even on loose balls, and Takahashi escaped a corner kick with a header. In the 30th minute, they created a chance from a corner kick, and G Osaka's midfielder Endo delivered a decisive header to defender Nishino from the right corner kick, but Ota cleared it just in time. In the 32nd minute, G Osaka's forward Kurata took a shot from the right area, but it was saved by Gonda.

After scoring, they were unable to bring the ball to a shot, but they maintained their defensive focus. On the contrary, in the 45th minute, G Osaka MF Konno's vertical pass was slid by Yoshimoto. This clearance flew into the opponent's half, and Edu tried to break through to the front line. However, he was momentarily pulled by two opposing defenders and couldn't control the ball. Muto, who ran a long distance for the loose ball, closed in and tried to aim for the goal in the center of the area, but it was blocked... The first half ended with a score of 2-0.

Edu seals the victory and grabs the first win in five games with a clean sheet!

G Osaka brought in MF Futagawa from the second half. In the 47th minute, Futagawa, who had seized the loose ball after breaking through the left rear of Tokyo DF, took a shot from just before the left area, but Tokyo blocked it with their body. However, there was a sense that the game could be turned around with the "next goal" being scored. But in the 52nd minute, Muto pressed G Osaka's DF line. Although he couldn't win the ball here, Takahashi intercepted a loose pass from DF to MF Endo and passed it directly to Edu just in front of the area. Edu, near the penalty arc, controlled the ball with a trap and turned around. He scored a powerful left-footed shot just barely past the right post and decided the game with the third goal!

After 55 minutes, there was a gap in the G Osaka defense, and Tokyo gained a free kick opportunity from consecutive pass errors. However, in the 56th minute, Ota's free kick from the right area just outside the box hit the crossbar... After picking up the second ball from there, Kono took a shot from the left area, but it was blocked.

Afterwards, G Osaka substituted DF Iwashita with MF Okazaki. MF Konno regained composure by moving to DF and launched a counterattack from "typical" passing work. In response, Tokyo substituted Higashi in the 68th minute and Hayashi in the 77th minute. They once again pushed Muto to the front line and adjusted by placing Higashi and Hayashi on both sides. They defended their own territory firmly and launched sharp counterattacks.

In the 84th minute, he cleared the opponent's cross and brought it into a counterattack. Hayu went up the left side and made a well-timed through pass to the front line. Muto skillfully broke through and entered the left area. Edu and Takahashi were also up in the center, but Muto's pass was cut off and only resulted in a corner kick. Although they couldn't score the fourth goal, G Osaka's counterattack was shut out by the defense. They seized a victory after 5 games with an unbeatable performance and game play, closing out the last league before the break.

[Player Comments]
"Edu"
"I am happy that I was able to score 2 goals starting in the lineup and that the team won. The team has been struggling with no goals in the past few games. Today, I was able to score a goal early on and I think that first goal gave the team confidence and courage. Furthermore, it was good that we were able to score an additional goal right away. We have had games where we played well but couldn't get results. I want to reevaluate what is missing and make adjustments during the break. And along with the Nabisco Cup, I want to turn things around in the second half of the league."

"Muto"
"(Regarding the goal) I was originally good at shooting in that form, but since becoming a professional, I have also been passing the ball a lot. I felt that I lacked a bit of greediness... so I'm really happy that I was able to score. I also saw Edu free on the right. However, since I brought it all the way there, I aimed for it. Today, everyone on the team was determined to score with a strong mindset. I was also able to continue dribbling until the end, which is my strength."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"I didn't expect to start like this, but I think the players' desire to win was conveyed to everyone. It was disappointing that we couldn't take the points we deserved in the past few games, but I want to thank the players for their high professionalism and their efforts. When it became 2-0, G Osaka became aggressive, so it became a soccer game that exploited the space behind. We created 6-7 decisive chances, and I think it was efficient to score 3 goals among them. G Osaka has many players with high technical quality, especially the two defensive midfielders are very good players. We knew that when the center-back had the ball, the full-backs would move forward and build up through the defensive midfielders. Today, the opponent's full-backs may not have been in a high position, but we made sure to press them. After scoring two goals, the full-backs started to take higher positions, so we changed the system to 4-4-1-1. The players had a high understanding of the tactics and responded immediately. This is the result of their constant focus. G Osaka is a strong and good team, and considering their abilities, I don't think our current points are deserving, but our play was very good today."

[G Osaka, Coach Kenta Hasegawa's Press Conference Summary]
"The two goals conceded at the beginning were everything. Tokyo had momentum from the start and if we became passive, we would lose. We talked about staying focused and playing at our own tempo, but we were cleanly beaten. We sent out the message that if we could score one goal in the second half...but we ended up conceding from a mistake. However, even after conceding two goals, we continued to play our own football and brought the game to a point where we could say 'if we score one goal'. Even after conceding the third goal, the players fought until the end without losing concentration. It's disappointing and frustrating that we couldn't win in the Kanto region despite having many supporters who came to support us away. We had come this far in a good shape, so I wanted us to play good football and finish the first half on a positive note, but today we were beaten by Tokyo. However, we have the Nabisco Cup coming up soon, so we want to switch our mindset and continue to fight."