2025 Meiji Yasuda J1 League, Section 2, game against Kyoto Sanga F.C. Comments after the game

As in every game against Kyoto Sanga F.C., today's game was played against strong high press. And we could not start the game in the way we wanted, controlling the game. I think we got a little nervous and didn't use the space that was available behind them in a good way and we lost the ball in our zone 1 and zone 2 a lot.

Today we made it part of our tactic to have Ryoma Watanabe go out the back, but with Samuel (Gustafsson) injured and being a different type of player, we changed the way we played a little bit. With Samuel, I went down between the center backs and played diagonal balls from there, and I think I was able to supply some good balls.

However, even so, we were unable to create a good shape. Vissel Kobe We were not able to collect as many second balls as we did in the first game.

In the second half, we conceded a goal as a result of a major defensive mistake. I am satisfied with the fact that Thiago (Santana) was able to score from a smart play and equalize the score.

I think that until the very end, both teams were trying to win and creating chances. Mikiki (Nagakura) took the pitch today, and Yusuke (Matsuo) played his first game since coming back from injury.

Both goalkeepers were in good form today, and the game was very competitive, so I think the draw was the most appropriate result. Shonan Bellmare In the next game, we will try to improve our start and control the game better than we did today.

(Q&A session)
(In the first half, there was a change in the front line due to injury.)
I think we will face a strong high press from the start in the next game against Shonan Bellmare. In those times, we will need to create space behind our opponents. In such a situation, we need to exploit the space behind our opponents. Vissel Kobe In the first 10 minutes of the game, I think we saw such elements in the first 10 minutes. That is one area for improvement.

Another is to change the shape of the build-up more flexibly. Until Samuel (Gustafsson) came on board, I don't think we saw the three-piece formation once. If the opponent presses hard and we can't break through that, I think we should change the shape of the build-up. I think that flexibility is one thing we can improve on."

(This season, I think referees are not calling so many fouls on contact play anymore, but Kyoto was very strong on the ball, and there were long periods when Reds players were down, but no fouls were called. How do you feel that has affected you?)
As I watched the game, there were a few situations that seemed dangerous, but it is hard to comment on them without watching the video back. It seemed to me that the players were confused about what they could do and what they couldn't do, and I don't think it's a matter of what the J-League is trying to do is good or bad, but that the players and our coaches need to get more comfortable with it.

Ryoma Watanabe (You said that you were pressed by the opponents at the start of the game, and there were no scenes where you used the back of the press.)
First of all, our timing wasn't very good today. Neither the timing of the front line receiving the ball nor the timing of the second row collecting the second ball was very good. At halftime, I showed them a video clip and told them that when the opponent is pressing, the defensive line is very high. I told them that it was not always a good time to use the long ball, but it was a good time to use the space behind them. The reason we couldn't use that space was partly due to poor decision-making. Danilo (Boza) and Marius (Huybraten) had to make early decisions if they wanted to use the space behind the ball.

When we replaced Ryoma, the options were to bring in Samuel or put Genki (Haraguchi) up top and drop Yasushi (Matsumoto) down to the volante. At that time, I felt that our build-up needed improvement, so I went with Samuel."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]