Reorganize the defense and win with Tokyo's rhythm!

　Sec. 28 will be held on Sunday, one day later, welcoming Gamba Osaka at home. In the previous match against Hiroshima, they suffered a comeback defeat after leading by 2 points and conceding 5 goals. In this match, they need to regroup defensively and fight in their own rhythm. There is hope for a long-awaited victory at home. In this match, Jean will be suspended due to accumulated yellow cards, and Inoha will be deployed as a center-back. Hirayama will be in the front line, Lucas will be in the attacking midfield, and Imakawa and Kajiyama will form a double pivot in the lineup. Additionally, Suzuki, who had a shoulder injury, returned on July 22 against Kashima and will be on the bench.

　G Osaka, who is currently in 2nd place, will be aiming for victory today, despite not having won any of their last 3 matches and not being in good form. Yesterday, the top-ranked Urawa drew their match, which gives G Osaka even more motivation to win. Although MF Endo has been sidelined due to health issues, the team still has a wealth of talent, especially in the attacking power of FW Hayato and FW Magnou Alves, who is currently in 2nd place in the goal-scoring rankings. They can aim for goals even as a duo, and they will launch successive attacks through the center with MF Futagawa as the starting point. If the center is marked, they can also break through from the sides with the well-known right MF Kaji and left MF Ienaga, showcasing a variety of attacking variations.

　Tokyo, on the other hand, wants to clearly determine the position and timing to press and take away the ball, and quickly transition to the attack. They want to break through the wall of G Osaka's defenders, Miyamoto and Clayson, by utilizing Hirayama's height and Toda's speed. In last week's practice, Coach Kuramata mentioned the issue of "slow transition," but they want to aim for victory by paying attention to the coordination between the defensive line and the front line, and maintaining Tokyo's rhythm.

Exploiting defensive gaps, 2 goals were conceded in the first half...

　Partly cloudy at Ajinomoto Stadium. The 26th and 27th sections were consecutive away games, so it was the first home game since the Niigata match on September 30th. Fans kept pouring in one after another, gathering a crowd of 36,161 spectators, and the match kicked off in Tokyo at 15:04. From the start, both teams showed their fighting spirit and engaged in intense attacks and defenses. In the 7th minute, Lucas took the first corner kick of the day. Kaneko headed Kajiyama's right corner kick, but the opponent's defender blocked it. Kajiyama picked up the loose ball and advanced towards the goal area. Hirayama connected with a negative pass, but unfortunately, it was blocked by the defender.

　Up until now, G Osaka had not created any decisive scenes, but in the 11th minute, FW Magnowa Alves persistently kept the ball on the right front line and was able to cross it back while moving away from the goal. The ball went over Inoha's head in front of the goal and reached FW Hato. Hato controlled the ball with his chest and scored a goal with a quick shot. Not missing the gap in Tokyo's defense, they conceded the opening goal early in the game.

　Still, Tokyo created chances from Ishikawa and Kajiyama's bold attacks. In the 23rd minute, Kajiyama went up the left side, exchanged passes with Lucas, dribbled up to the left area, and passed it back to Lucas. Lucas' shot was blocked by the opponent's defender. However, in the immediate 24th minute, the midfield lost the loose ball, and G Osaka's midfielder Nikawa floated a pass behind Tokyo's defense. FW Magnouves caught up with great speed, controlled it with his head while inside the left area. From there, he scored an impressive shot and conceded the second goal.

　Although the vulnerability of the defense was exposed, we were not completely pushed back. Even when we were behind, we did not give up and tried to counterattack. In the 29th minute, Ishikawa carved out the right side and won a corner kick from a fast ground cross. Kajiyama connected with a header from the corner kick, but Lucas' header shot missed to the left. After that, Ishikawa moved well and attacked from the right side, but he couldn't quite control the ball in the front line. In the 42nd minute, Tokunaga, who broke through on the right side, was fouled and won a free kick from the right side of the area. Ishikawa volleyed the loose ball that hit the G Osaka defender, but the opponent's goalkeeper caught it. The goal did not break, and we went into the second half with a two-goal lead.

Konno, Suzuki, and Ishikawa! They scored 3 goals in 7 minutes and achieved a dramatic comeback victory.

　In the second half, G Osaka gained momentum. They put pressure on Tokyo's goal mainly through set plays, but they did not lose focus and did not allow any additional points. In the 54th minute, Baba was substituted for Hirayama. Lucas was positioned in the front line, aiming for a goal. In the 58th minute, Baba took a long shot as he saw no pressing from the opponent's side in their territory. Although it was caught by the goalkeeper, it was a good attempt and became a turning point for Tokyo to regain their rhythm.

　61 minutes, Tokunaga attacks inside and Kajiyama runs into the loose ball from the scramble in front of the goal. However, he is closed down by the opponent's defender and fails to shoot. In the 64th minute, Suzuki is substituted for Toda. Gradually, Bamba dominates the ball from his hold-up play, and Imano also shows a bold attacking run, resulting in longer periods of attacking. However, they still fail to finish and continue to suffer from counterattacks by G Osaka. In the 74th minute, Magnou Alves, the forward who broke through from a pass by G Osaka's midfielder, Nikawa, shoots from a close range, but Doi saves it with his whole body, preventing a dangerous situation.

　Tokyo, in the 76th minute, substitutes Miyazawa for Kajiyama. With this player substitution, they completely grasp the pace and finally break through the G Osaka goal. In the 77th minute, as Fujiyama feeds the ball to the front line, the opponent's goalkeeper jumps out. At this moment, Imano starts running, skillfully evades the goalkeeper with a clever trap, and smoothly scores into the unguarded goal, GOAL! They catch up to a one-point difference.

　Amidst the increasing mood of counterattack with this goal, in the 81st minute, Suzuki, who received a pass from Fujiyama to Baba on the left sideline, advanced inside with a dribble and flashed his left foot. He struck a powerful shot into the top right corner of the goal net! The stadium heated up even more with this spectacular equalizer. In the following 84th minute, Imakawa overlapped on the left side and persistently connected with a loose ball, passing it to Suzuki who advanced towards the goal. Suzuki sent a fast ground ball inside, which Ishikawa trapped perfectly, calmly guiding it into the goal, GOAL!! They scored three consecutive goals in a relentless manner, achieving a brilliant comeback, and the stadium's excitement reached its peak.

　In the remaining time, G Osaka also attacked from set pieces, and tense moments continued. In injury time, a penalty area free kick was given from just outside, creating a tense scene. FW Magnouves aimed directly and sent it into the left frame, but escaped with a nice save by Doi, and immediately after that, time was up! The substitute player created a rhythm and dramatically turned the game around by scoring 3 goals in the second half. Encouraged by the cheers from the stands, they obtained valuable 3 points at Ajinomoto Stadium for the first time since the Nagoya match on April 29th, defeating G Osaka.

　【Player Comments】<Suzuki> "The goal was always blocked on the side vertical, but at that moment, I saw space inside. The opponent's DF didn't close in, so I thought it was a chance and shot toward the goal with all my might. I was able to connect well and shot without slicing it. (The assist to Ishikawa) G Osaka's DF, like Shijikurei, are tall, so I was thinking of sending a fast, shooting-type ball inside. When I played, we were losing, and since my strength is offense, I decided to play boldly. I was finally included in the lineup last night and was itching with excitement. Today, I truly felt that the three months of hard work during my injury paid off. Hearing the supporters call my name is a big motivation for players. Today's cheers were louder than usual, which boosted my motivation even more. However, I've only played one match so far. The real issue is how much I can do from here on." <Konno> "We conceded two goals at the start, but everyone ran well until the end, and the stadium atmosphere was fantastic, so we managed to come back. At halftime, we recalled the previous match against Hiroshima where we were overturned, and we discussed that if we scored one goal, the opponent would get nervous. In the first half, Kajiyama was pushed forward, and G Osaka MF Nigawa was also coming out, so I stayed back most of the time. In the second half, I thought I had no choice but to take risks and go forward. The goal came from a good ball, and since the GK was coming out, I felt I could score if my first touch was good. The trap went well. Gamba has high individual ability and is definitely strong as a team, but I believed that if we played our football, we could have a good match. Today, there was a sense of unity throughout the stadium, creating an atmosphere of "we can do it." Scoring one goal changed the stadium's mood and gave us great strength. We will continue to face top teams, and since their motivation is high, our desire to beat them grows stronger. It's exciting, and I want to trouble the top teams."

　[Summary of Coach Kuramata's Press Conference] "Since becoming coach, we haven't been able to win at Ajinomoto, and we've always caused trouble for the supporters. The players worked hard, but it was the strong support from the fans that also inspired the players to push themselves. It was truly great. In the first half, G Osaka scored brilliantly on two chances. We were able to play our style of football to some extent, but we conceded goals. In that situation, we had difficulty maintaining possession up front, so we aimed to correct that and approach the second half differently. I told Hirayama to hold the ball firmly, but G Osaka thoroughly marked the wedge passes to Hirayama. Because of that, things didn't go as planned, and the surrounding players became frustrated. Hirayama has height, and he created chances on three set plays in the first half. Considering that the marking was focused on him, we observed the situation until the start of the second half, but since there was little change, we substituted Baba for Lucas to run into space. After that, we had several chances and were able to score. We planned to limit Suzuki's time on the left side. Since he was just returning from injury and couldn't play for long periods yet, we aimed to take advantage when G Osaka's MF Kaji started to tire. We boldly brought him on with 25 minutes remaining, and since he delivered results, it was good."

　[Summary of G Osaka Coach Nishino's Press Conference] "Yesterday, after Urawa drew, it was a big chance match. The players approached it with that mindset, but it was a game completely uncharacteristic of G Osaka. After scoring two goals, there was neither attacking power nor intensity. The awareness to push forward was lacking, and there was a lot of defensive time. With Hirayama on the field, the defensive line dropped back, increasing the number of contact plays inside the penalty area, which is a weakness for G Osaka, and indeed the line dropped back. At halftime, I emphasized this point and told the players, 'This is a dangerous game,' but the feeling became more like 'We want to hold on.' Also, although we were able to win the ball, we couldn't create pauses in midfield, and I felt we somewhat lost confidence in our attack. With MF Endo absent, winning the ball was excellent, but it was difficult to expect MF Myojin and Hashimoto to develop plays, connect passes, and manage time from there. In attack, when MF Nigawa was contained, we couldn't build the game. FW Barato was injured and was in a state where it was uncertain how much he could carry the team. There were moments when Fujiyama and Tokunaga entered midfield, so I substituted Maeda for defensive purposes in midfield. To block Tokyo's side attacks, FW Magno and Barato tried to pressure the opposing center backs and push back both fullbacks, but it didn't go well. I disliked Hirayama being substituted. Baba added accents with ground passes, and Suzuki coming out there was the worst pattern. In that sense, I wanted to eliminate Tokyo's side attacks early with substitutions like Maeda."