Review: Cerezo Osaka 1-2 Shonan Bellmare (J1 MD2)

The home opener of the 2025 season ended in defeat. Despite improvements in the second half, Cerezo were unable to overcome Shonan's coordinated offense and defense.

Seven days after a 5-2 win in the season-opening Osaka Derby, Cerezo Osaka welcomed Shonan Bellmare to Yodoko Sakura Stadium for their home opener of the season, looking for back-to-back wins. The starting lineup was the same as in the season opener. There was one change on the bench, with Hiroaki Okuno replacing Takumi Nakamura.

In the 6th minute, Shonan's Akito Suzuki threatened with a header from a corner kick, but goalkeeper Kim Jin Hyeon made a good save. Shonan got the better of Cerezo at the start, but from then on Cerezo gradually began to have more possession. However, Shonan's coordinated defense prevented Cerezo from moving the ball forward. They were unable to use the same fluid passing that they had in the season opener, as Shonan kept the middle of the pitch tightly closed, allowing them to take the ball on the flanks. Sota Kitano, who was able to play freely in the season opener, was frustrated at times by the tight marking of Shonan’s Kohei Okuno, as he recalled, “In the first half, the opponents often played man-to-man and I had few chances to touch the ball." The team's system created mismatches on the flanks, and the creativity of Kakeru Funaki and Hayato Okuda was not fully exploited. In the midst of these developments, a goal was conceded in the 32nd minute. A pass from Funaki to Reiya Sakata on the left flank was intercepted, and the opponents passed behind our defenders. Sho Fukuda collected the ball and passed it to Shonan's No. 10, Akito Suzuki, who scored. From that point until the end of the first half, Cerezo's defense was in disarray, as Shonan had a series of decisive chances, but they were saved by Kim Jin Hyeon and the crossbar, and a second goal was avoided.





In the second half, looking for an improvement, manager Arthur Papas made a substitution. Masaya Shibayama replaced Sakata, with Shibayama placed on the right wing and Lucas Fernandes on the left wing. However, just as they were about to fight back, they conceded a second goal in the 51st minute. Rafael Ratao lost the ball up front, and as the Cerezo players paused for a moment, thinking it was a foul, Akito Suzuki got behind the defense from a pass and dribbled in to score at the near post. Soon after, Shinji Kagawa and Ratao were replaced by Vitor Bueno and Motohiko Nakajima for Cerezo. In the 63rd minute, Fernandes pressed the ball high and Kitano got a chance to score. He had a good shot on target, but it was denied by Shonan goalkeeper Naoto Kamifukumoto. Cerezo, while wary of Shonan's counterattacks, pushed forward as a whole in search of an equalizer, and in the 89th minute, they had another chance. Nakajima headed in Shibayama's cross at the far post, but “the goalkeeper was in my sight” (Nakajima), and he was unable to hit the ball properly and it went just wide. In the added time of the second half, chances came for Bueno, who received a vertical pass from Tanaka, and for Nakajima from Bueno's corner kick, but they could not score. Cerezo rallied in the second half, but in the first half, the team's strengths were nullified, and manager Papas admitted that “Shonan was better."







After the match, many players regretted the way they played in the first half, and the fact that they could not overcome Shonan's countermeasures was also highlighted. However, the value of this match was not small, as it showed the need to be flexible in dealing with opponents, as well as the need to keep pushing forward with their own style. "We learned that what was not good was not good. I think it was rather a good thing that we couldn't ride the wave instead of just casually getting into a good flow," said Shinnosuke Hatanaka. The new team is just getting started. They will continue to move forward, taking advantage of both successes and mistakes.