Review: Cerezo Osaka 1-1 FC Tokyo (J1 MD11)

Looking to win back-to-back league games for the first time this season, the team took the lead through Ratao, but failed to convert subsequent chances into goals, resulting in a disappointing draw.

Three days after the J.League YBC Levain Cup 1st Round 2nd Leg match against FC Imabari, the stage was once again set for a league match as Cerezo Osaka welcomed FC Tokyo at home in the 11th round of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League. The starting lineup was the same as in the previous match against Kashima Antlers. After a dramatic win in their last match, Cerezo Osaka were looking to win back-to-back matches for the first time this season.



Six minutes into the game, Cerezo continued the momentum from the previous game and took the lead. Shunta Tanaka and Motohiko Nakajima pressed in succession to win the ball high up the pitch, and Rafael Ratao's pass was turned in by Lucas Fernandes on the other side and headed in by Ratao, who ran in again. Ratao got the ball high again in the 7th minute, but Thiago Andrade was unable to get a shot off. Another chance came in the 12th minute. Lucas latched onto a pass from FC Tokyo goalkeeper Taishi Brandon Nozawa and dribbled in for a shot that just missed the target. Cerezo started the game in the best possible way, pressing forward in tandem with their opponents, but in the 17th minute, a pass in their own half was intercepted by an opponent and a short counterattack resulted in Ryuya Nishio bringing down an opponent in the box and conceding a penalty kick. The goal was scored, and FC Tokyo took advantage of their only chance to equalize. In the 23rd minute, an errant pass in their own half led to an almost decisive shot, but Nishio was on course for the shot and saved it. In the 30th minute, Shindo headed a corner kick from Lucas, but it didn't find the back of the net. In the first half, both teams scored by pressing from the front, and ball possession, number of passes, and success rate of passes were almost equal. Despite the fact that it was only three days since the second round of the Levain Cup, which ended in extra time, both teams played with a high level of intensity in the first half.





After an evenly matched first half, the second half began with Cerezo getting into the opponents' half and getting closer to the goal. In the 47th minute, Ratao and Lucas pressed high, forcing the opposition into a passing error, and Tanaka took the ball. He immediately sent a pass to Lucas on the front line, but the opponents were quick to return and Lucas was unable to get a shot off. In the 52nd minute, Sota Kitano pressed alone and won the ball. Ratao received a pass from Lucas and fired a shot that was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 62nd minute, the biggest chance of the second half came. The goalkeeper made a kicking error after handling a back pass from an opposing defender. Thiago picked up the ball and turned it inside to Ratao, who fired in a shot, but the goalkeeper made a great save to recover his mistake, and Cerezo could not find the net. Despite getting the ball in a good way in front of the opponents' goal again and again in the second half, Cerezo were far from scoring a second goal. In the 71st minute, manager Arthur Papas made his first change, replacing Nakajima with Shinji Kagawa. They continued to hold onto the ball and push their opponents, and had another chance in the 78th minute. Hayato Okuda won the ball high up the pitch, and he passed it vertically to Tanaka and Lucas, and finally Ratao received a one-touch pass from Lucas and shot but could not find the target. Cerezo continued to attack in waves in the final minutes, but were unable to move the score. The team failed to capitalize on a number of opportunities, and their manager said, “We need to improve our decision-making once we get in front of the goal. The quality of technique, the quality of the last pass, and the timing of the final run in. We must be able to make better decisions to be sure of scoring.” Nevertheless, the defenders remained focused until the very end, despite the fact that the game could have ended in a one-shot counterattack by the opponents and even a point could have been lost. Although Marcelo Ryan, who has both speed and power, came on midway through the game, Cerezo did not allow the opponents to create any decisive chances, such as in the 82nd minute, when Shindo was solid in a one-on-one situation. In second-half added time, Vitor Bueno, who came on midway through the second half, played a one-two in front of goal and fired a shot just over the crossbar.





The match ended 1-1. It was a disappointing draw for Cerezo. Ratao, who scored the first goal, did not smile, saying, “I am happy to have scored a goal, but I am more disappointed that I could not score more because I had more chances to score." Lucas, who had an assist, also expressed his disappointment, saying, “Considering that we created so many chances, the game should have resulted in a win for us. It is really disappointing." After the league match against Kashima and the cup match against Imabari, both of which lasted more than 100 minutes, some players showed signs of fatigue, but the team still fought on until the very end, creating chances. The next match against Tokyo Verdy, which will be played in four days, will be a good opportunity for the team to get a result and add three points to their tally.