A crucial match to restart the league, utilizing each team's strengths.

　Sec. 26 of the league will be held, facing Gamba Osaka at home. In the previous match against Kyoto, we lost 2 points due to mistakes and suffered a defeat. It was a rough start after the league resumed, but based on that reflection, Manager Jofuku said, "I realized that if we don't approach it without looking at our feet, the results won't come. I want to go back to our original starting point and restart." This match will be a crucial one where we must take 3 points at home and keep up with the top teams.

　G Osaka, on the other hand, is currently in 5th place. In early July, they suffered three consecutive losses, but they have since recovered and maintained a good form with 6 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss in the last 8 matches. Additionally, FW Leandro transferred before the 23rd match, leaving the team, but immediately after, FW Pedro JUNIOR joined from Niigata. There are also other talented forwards such as Cho Jae-jin, Hashido, and Yamazaki. In this match, FW Pedro JUNIOR is absent. They have been playing with a front two of FW Cho Jae-jin and FW Lucas, but the midfield talents that support them are all present, and the team boasts an overwhelming attacking power with a current total of 45 goals, ranking first in the league.

　Tokyo, this time HIRAYAMA is suspended. Therefore, AKAMINE and SUZUKI will form a two-top formation. The players all say, "We want to take advantage of the benefits of changing the lineup" and aim to launch a powerful attack by utilizing the movement of SUZUKI, HANYU, ISHIKAWA, etc. starting from AKAMINE. If they can fully demonstrate their respective strengths, persistently continue their own style of soccer, they should be able to find a chance to win. They want to show a strong attitude of focusing on the game and achieve victory while demonstrating growth.

　Ajinomoto Stadium, which gives a cool feeling under the cloudy sky, started the match with G Osaka's kickoff at 16:05, while the annual "Brazil Festa" is also being held.

Unable to capitalize on the chances despite grasping the rhythm and taking control

　Immediately after the start of the match, G Osaka FW Lucas brought the ball in from the left side and took a shot with speed to MF Endo who had moved up in the center. However, this shot missed above the bar, and Tokyo had a big chance. In the 2nd minute, Nagatomo passed Suzuki with a one-two and attacked the left side, and Akamine -> Suzuki broke through behind the G Osaka DF in the left area and crossed. Ishikawa, who had closed in from the far side to the right area, took a free direct volley! He created a decisive opportunity, but the shot did not hit the target...

　In the 4th minute, G Osaka's left back Shimodaira was targeted, and in the 6th minute, midfielder Myojin was targeted from the middle range, but Tokyo gradually grasped the rhythm by moving the ball with the fluid movements of Suzuki, Ishikawa, and Hanyu, as well as the attacking runs of both fullbacks. In the 9th minute, Suzuki became the starting point in the right area and created a chance. Kajiyama's shot from the center, which came loose, was blocked, but Hanyu connected the ball that fell into the left area and launched a thick attack. In the 16th minute, Ishikawa was fouled near the corner of the right area and won a free kick. However, neither chance was fully utilized.

　In the 21st minute, Yonemoto and Kajiyama exchanged passes in their own half. The momentum of this pass was weak and it was cut off by the opponent, but Imano quickly controlled it and Tokyo launched a counterattack. From the quick attack, Hayu went up the center freely, but the distance from the goal was far and he couldn't take a shot. Suzuki brought the ball into the area line on the right and crossed it, but there was no player to connect with it in the far side... In the 25th minute, Ishikawa ran through the center and trapped the floating ball from the left rear, then confidently shot from just outside the right area! It seemed to have skimmed the defender and gone out, but it resulted in a goal kick for G Osaka.

　In the 30th minute, Nagatomo went up the left side and received a return pass from Hayabusa in the opponent's half. He then sped towards the center and took a shot, but it went wide. G Osaka quickly switched the play and the game continued at a fast tempo. In the 44th minute, the left corner kick was cleared, but Imakano intercepted G Osaka's attacking play. He dribbled up to the right front line and delivered a low and powerful cross to the center. Ishikawa ran in from behind Akamine and made a direct shot, but missed the target... Despite having control of the game, they couldn't convert their chances and the first half ended with a 0-0 score.

Despite losing momentum in the second half, they managed to keep a clean sheet with solid defense and earned 1 point.

　In the second half, which was expected to score. In the 48th minute, Nagatomo ran into the left area after receiving a through pass from Douglas, but the opponent's goalkeeper jumped out one step ahead and couldn't shoot. In the 51st minute, Ishikawa → Nagatomo tried to send a last pass to the center by running behind the DF in the left area, but it was dealt with perfectly by the G Osaka DF and was blocked. In the 55th minute, Suzuki slid into the goal area in response to Nagatomo's ground cross, but the timing was off.

　In the 63rd minute, Akamine, Hanyu, and Kajiyama quickly connected passes and advanced on the attack from the right area corner, with Kajiyama taking a shot. However, it was blocked by the defender, and although they tried to follow up on the rebound, Nagatomo, who had advanced from the right front line, was pushed and lost the ball. As time passed, the players' energy decreased and mistakes started to occur, making it difficult to connect passes. While G Osaka controlled the pace, in the 71st minute, they brought in the attacking duo of forward Hayato and midfielder Sasaki. They gained momentum and came to score.

　Tokyo replaced Hanyu with Tanabe. In the following 76th minute, Mukuhara replaced Suzuki as the right full-back. Ishikawa moved to the forward position, and Tokunaga moved up to the midfield to aim for a goal, but towards the end, the line dropped and G Osaka continued to push them back. Nevertheless, they launched a counterattack, and in the 81st minute, Ishikawa dribbled the ball from Akamine's post to the left area, and Tokunaga followed up. Akamine in the center took a ground shot, but it slightly curved to the left...

　On the other hand, in defense, they did not lose focus. In the 83rd minute, a pass was connected from the right side of G Osaka, and FW Yamazaki, who had jumped out to the center of the goal, was shot with a decisive shot in a free position, but Gonda made a save with his left hand! With this great play by Gonda, they calmly defended against G Osaka's strong attack and kept a clean sheet. As a result, the match ended in a scoreless draw.

　[Player Comments]《Bruno QUADROS》"Of course, we wanted to take all three points in this match. However, G Osaka is also a team fighting for ACL qualification, just like us. I think it wasn't bad to share one point in such a tough match. G Osaka has good players in their forward line, and FW Lucas has high quality, while the substitute FW Bando has speed. Moreover, not just in the forward line, but as a team, we have a slightly different rhythm compared to other teams, and I thought it was important to take care of that overall. In the end, both teams had chances today, and especially in the second half, G Osaka created many opportunities, but we were able to hold them off well. The Brazil Festa is a traditional event that I was looking forward to, and many people from Brazil came to watch. It was a good exchange."《Gonda》"I think the drop in pace in the second half is a challenge for us moving forward, but it was good that our defense managed to keep a clean sheet. G Osaka came at us vertically faster than we expected. I think we were able to respond without panicking. Everyone was focused, and in the end, they put their bodies on the line. We had some aggressive players coming in from behind in the second half, and there were some dangerous moments at first, but our DF line did well to stick with them, so it wasn't a problem from that point on. (Were there any good saves?) In that situation, the DF line was marking other players tightly, so it was easier to aim. (What points of growth did you see compared to the away match in the first half?) Rather than growth, the back line was able to concentrate on defending. If we concede a goal early, our attack tends to struggle. If we don't concede, we can attack like that."

　[Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference] "The result was 0-0, and I am not sure how to express whether we should say we 'earned one point.' The players prepared well and stepped onto the pitch with confidence, trying to give their all. The difference in quality between the first and second halves is something we need to reflect on moving forward. However, given that our squad is limited and we couldn't even hold a practice match, I want to take a positive view on our attempt to play the football we aim for today. We want to continue the good aspects and prepare to earn three points in the next match. Regarding our decision-making when we are fatigued, including our player depth, we need to take it seriously and, while considering what we did well and where we need to improve, I hope to celebrate with our fans at Ajinomoto Stadium in the next match. (Regarding the substitution of Mukuahara and moving Tokunaga one line forward) G Osaka MF Sho SASAKI is skilled at dribbling, so we wanted to contain that. Another reason is that with the fast players like FW Bando coming in, we wanted Mukuahara to cover for Bruno QUADROS. Additionally, not only in defense but also in terms of Tokunaga's long-range shots or developing plays after winning loose balls, we were preparing to score at Kodaira, so there were intentions on both sides.

　【Summary of G Osaka Nishino Coach's Press Conference】"I felt it was heavy in the first half. We have had good starts recently, so I was hoping that we could start today by pulling the rhythm ourselves. Tokyo also had a good start and came aggressively, so it was a halftime where we had to control how to bring this game closer to a high point. Gradually, some switched players activated, but we couldn't play the good tempo soccer that we had been doing lately today. There were also few scoring opportunities. We had prepared well, so I had high expectations, but the result is very disappointing. However, we were not good either, and I felt that Tokyo was good today. So we defended firmly and then tried to move on to the attack, and I think we were able to do that in that aspect."