2025 Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 7 match Cerezo Osaka Post-match comments

"Today was a very important game for us. We had been going without winning away games against Cerezo OSAKA, so we went into the match today with the determination to break that streak. The players were highly motivated during training this week and prepared well. However, we got off to a terrible start, conceding a goal from what could have been an easy mistake on our part just two minutes into the game, and we quickly put ourselves in a difficult situation.

In the first half, we were not able to control the game as we wanted. For example, when we were trying to apply high pressure, the opponents appeared on the sides of the midfield and in the pockets, but we were not able to manage that area well. Cerezo OSAKA was able to avoid our high pressure and create dangerous situations. In the first half, Shusaku (Nishikawa) saved the team many times.

We brought on Matsuo (Yusuke) at halftime, and in the second half we had two wingers and moved (Matheus) Savio to the attacking midfielder position. We played better than in the first half, but we weren't able to create chances and score. We also had to be careful of Cerezo OSAKA 's dangerous counterattacks.

Towards the end of the second half, we took a risk and switched to a two-man attack. We created a few chances, and Ryoma (Watanabe) scored a goal with a very good play, which ultimately earned us one point. This wasn't the point we were aiming for before the match, but considering how the game went today, I think it was a good result."

[Question and Answer Session]
(Cerezo OSAKA is a team that spreads out, and they don't do well against teams that play with a five-back formation, so perhaps they were able to prepare for that during the break?)
"We weren't thinking about preparing a three-back formation because of the break. Our aim was to maintain continuity in our four-back formation and make it evolve. However, I don't think that whether we were able to defend against Cerezo OSAKA or not is a problem with the system."

(When playing with a four-man defense, you need to create time to hold the ball and force the opposition to defend, but what about the quality of the ball?)
"I don't think we were able to maintain possession of the ball in today's match. However, during the preparation period, maintaining possession was one of our aims, and Cerezo OSAKA is a compact team, so we aimed to use the space by making side changes. However, I think there was only one instance where (Kaneko) Takuro received the ball after a side change. I would like to talk with the players about why we were unable to maintain our composure and maintain possession while making side changes.

Another aspect of today's match that I was not satisfied with was how we used the space behind us. In the match Kashima Antlers, we were able to get behind the defense quite well, but that didn't happen today.

(What was the reason behind bringing in Shoya Nakajima in place of Matheus Savio?)
"I felt that the gap between Cerezo OSAKA 's defensive line and the midfield line was starting to open up a little. (Nakajima) Shoya is a player who is good at using the gap between the lines. That's why I used Shoya."

(Matheus Savio is a very skilled player and I think he is doing a great job, but it seems like his strengths aren't really being translated into positive results for the team.)
"I also think that my challenge is to make the most of (Matheus) Savio's abilities. I've told Savio that he can switch positions with (Matsumoto) Yasushi and go to the center or to the right, but we haven't been able to make the most of his potential yet.

I think it's important to calm Savio down. He's played seven games now and hasn't scored any goals or provided any assists, so I think he's struggling. But we shouldn't be impatient here. I'll be patient and wait."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]