Review: Cerezo Osaka 2-1 Fagiano Okayama (J1 MD8)

The Brazilian trio's dynamism and defensive perseverance led to the long-awaited first home win of the season.

Four days after the previous game against Urawa Reds, which ended in a disappointing draw, Cerezo Osaka faced Fagiano Okayama in the eighth round of the Meiji Yasuda J1 season, aiming for their first home win of the season and under the new manager. Cerezo Osaka started with the same 11 players as in the previous match. Thiago Andrade, who was injured in the last game, was named in the starting lineup, and Shion Homma, who joined the team on loan from Urawa on March 27, made his first appearance on the bench.



Three minutes into the game, Rafael Ratao cut off the second ball after clearing a corner kick with a fierce press, and Thiago Andrade picked up the rebound and ran from the halfway line to slot past Okayama goalkeeper Svend Brodersen. As in the previous game, the Brazilian duo combined for an electrifying first goal. Soon after, Okayama's Lucao latched onto a long ball and unleashed a shot on goal, but Koki Fukui, who started the game as he had in the previous match, made a fine save to keep out the danger. From that moment on, Cerezo controlled the game and went for a second goal. In the 19th minute, Lucas Fernandes fired in a shot from the second ball of a corner kick. It was a powerful shot, but the ball flew right into the goalkeeper's hands. Another chance came in the 21st minute. Hayato Okuda kicked a ball into space for Thiago to run on to, and although Thiago's trap was erratic, he quickly switched to take it back and launch a short counterattack. Finally, Sota Kitano latched onto a pass from Motohiko Nakajima and fired a shot just wide. In the 24th minute, Okuda slipped and missed his trapping. He lost the ball and it looked like Okayama had a decisive chance, but Shinnosuke Hatanaka made a superb sliding block. It was a big play that prevented Lucao from shooting. Hatanaka made another great defense in the 38th minute, but had to be substituted after injuring his right foot. He was replaced by Ryuya Nishio, who made his 100th appearance for J1 in this match. Nishio got into the game well, covering well soon after, but they conceded a goal in the 44th minute. After Lucao picked up the ball in the center of the pitch and played it out to the left, a cross from Okayama's left wingback was met by the opposite side’s wingback Ryunosuke Sato to score the equalizer. But that was not the end of the first half. In added time, Nakajima, Okuda, and Lucas combined, and Lucas ran behind the defence and earned a free kick just outside the box. Here, it was Lucas and Ratao who showed their ingenuity. "When I saw the positioning of the opponents, I saw that there was space around the penalty mark, so I signaled to Ratao with my eyes,” said Lucas. “The moment we took the free kick, everyone went inside and the opponents followed, so I realized there was a big space in front of me. I pointed to Lucas and asked him to ‘'put it out here,’” said Ratao. The communication was perfect, and Ratao met Lucas' pass and found the back of the net.







In the second half, with Cerezo leading by a goal, Okayama began to push forward in both attack and defense, but in the 53rd minute, Cerezo turned the arrow back in their favor with a crucial chance. A long pass from Ryosuke Shindo was collected by Lucas, who raced through and crossed the ball into the box, where Ratao was brought down by the opposing defender, but the whistle was not blown. It looked like a penalty kick, but the VAR did not intervene, and the goal was not awarded. From that point on, the game went back and forth, with both sides making substitutions. Cerezo allowed several chances from the flanks, while creating good opportunities on the counterattack, mainly through Kitano and Lucas. In the 83rd minute, Cerezo had a chance. Kitano, who was sharp again in this match, dribbled and Lucas took a pass from Shunta Tanaka and crossed into the box. Ratao met the ball and fired into the box, but was saved by goalkeeper Brodersen. In the 84th minute, manager Arthur Papas made two changes. Kyohei Noborizato and Ratao were replaced by Niko Takahashi and Shinji Kagawa. The system was changed to a 5-4-1, with Tanaka dropping into the middle of the back three and Kitano moving up top. At the press conference the day before the match, the manager said, “I discussed with the players how to close out the match,” and he made visible changes to wrap up the match. However, an incident occurred in the 88th minute. Goalkeeper Fukui and Shindo collided head on after an opponent's cross. Fukui, in particular, was unable to get up and left the pitch for a concussion substitution. Kim Jin Hyeon came on as a substitute, but a power play by Okayama resulted in a goal in the 96th minute. The last-minute equalizer, as happened against Nagoya Grampus and Urawa, had us thinking that it was going to happen again, but it was overturned due to Okayama's offside on the play leading up to the goal. Relieved, the game ended at 2-1. Despite the struggle, the team grabbed the long-awaited first home win of the season, and the first home win with the new manager.





Hatanaka, who had to be replaced midway through the first half, witnessed the victory and praised his teammates, saying, “The players on the pitch kept fighting until the end, which is why we won." "Koki (Fukui) was also giving his all to defend. I was doing my best for Koki at the end,” said Kitano. In the post-game lap, Nishio held up Fukui's shirt. Captain Tanaka said, “Everyone ran well and fought hard on the ball. It is important to keep on fighting like this,” he said, looking ahead to the future. The long-awaited first home win was finally in hand, but it was only the second win for the team. The next game is an away match against Sanfrecce Hiroshima, a team they have not beaten in recent years. "It will be a clash of pride. We want to prepare well for the match,” said Kitano. After a three-day recovery period, the team will travel to Hiroshima with the aim of winning back-to-back games for the first time this season.