Review: Cerezo Osaka 0-1 Gamba Osaka (J1 MD23)

Cerezo suffered a 0-1 loss in the 50th Osaka Derby in the league, unable to capitalize on multiple chances and conceding from a set piece in a frustrating result.

Thirteen days after their previous league match against Tokyo Verdy in Matchweek 21 of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League, Cerezo Osaka hosted Gamba Osaka at home for Matchweek 23. It was the 50th Osaka Derby in J1 League history. Marking the occasion, Cerezo players wore special logos on their kits. Compared to the Tokyo Verdy match, there were three changes to the starting lineup: Vitor Bueno, Hinata Kida, and Kyohei Noborizato were left out, while Motohiko Nakajima started as the attacking midfielder, Shunta Tanaka made his first start since returning from injury in the holding midfield role, and Niko Takahashi came in at left back.



Both sides earned early corner kicks and threatened the goal from the outset. In the 6th minute, Lucas Fernandes won the ball with solid defending, leading to a move where Shinji Kagawa passed to Motohiko Nakajima, who unleashed a mid-range shot. In the 8th minute, Gamba responded with a shot from attacking midfielder Makoto Mitsuta off a cross by Ryoya Yamashita. The match quickly heated up, and Gamba took control in the first half. Having suffered a 2-0 defeat in the opening 25 minutes of their previous match against Kyoto Sanga FC, Gamba made changes to their starting lineup and restructured their defense. As a result, Cerezo struggled to move the ball forward. With the central areas shut down, even the in-form Lucas Fernandes was kept quiet, and attacks down the flanks failed to make an impact. While Cerezo endured a tough spell, they nearly conceded in the 23rd minute when Yamashita broke free on a short counterattack, but Shinnosuke Hatanaka made a desperate recovery and blocked the shot with a sliding tackle. From the resulting corner, Genta Miura got a free header, but again, Hatanaka cleared with a crucial header to keep the game level. After the hydration break, Cerezo began to fight back. In the 28th minute, Ryuya Nishio switched the play to the right, where Hayato Okuda delivered a cross to the far post. Thiago Andrade got on the end of it and had a clear chance, but his shot struck the post. Gamba created another chance in the 33rd minute, but Yamashita's shot missed the target, and Cerezo escaped. Cerezo then launched a flurry of attacks heading into halftime. In the 38th minute, Nakajima received a pass from Kagawa and quickly turned to shoot, and later in the same minute, Shunta Tanaka headed from a corner, though the former was saved by the goalkeeper and the latter narrowly cleared the bar. In the 42nd minute, another big chance came. Nakajima played a through ball that sent Thiago down the left. He crossed into the box, and after a deflection, Rafael Ratao pounced on the loose ball. He rounded the keeper and, from a tight angle, got his shot off — only to be denied again by the post. Reflecting after the match, Hatanaka said, “Toward the end of the first half, we had chances to score two or three goals. If we had been able to capitalize on them, the game could have turned out differently.” Indeed, the inability to finish those chances proved costly in the end.





Carrying the momentum from the end of the first half, Cerezo continued to push forward in the second half, keeping the ball high up the pitch and playing in the opponent’s half. However, shots from Motohiko Nakajima in the 48th minute, Lucas Fernandes in the 50th, and Shinji Kagawa from inside the box in the 60th all failed to hit the target, and the score remained unchanged. Although Cerezo had kept Gamba from mounting any attacks throughout the second half, they were caught on the counter in the 69th minute and conceded from the resulting corner. A shot from Neta Lavi, off a pass from Makoto Mitsuta, deflected off the back of Riku Handa and changed direction before finding the net — a somewhat unfortunate goal for Cerezo to concede. In the 73rd minute, manager Arthur Papas responded with a triple substitution. Dion Cools, making his J.League debut, came in at right back, while Masaya Shibayama and Shion Homma were introduced in the attacking midfield. Despite this push, Cerezo couldn’t break down Gamba’s reinforced defense. In the 84th minute, Kagawa and Tanaka were replaced by Hinata Kida and Reiya Sakata. Kida slotted into the anchor role as the team shifted to a 4-1-4-1 formation, committing more players forward. Their best chance came in stoppage time: Sakata was brought down after a dribble, earning a free kick. Shibayama’s delivery to the far post was met by Cools, who headed it across goal for Rafael Ratao to tap in — but the flag was up. Cools had been marginally offside, and the goal was ruled out. Yodoko Sakura Stadium was ready to erupt, but the last-minute equalizer never came.





Cerezo continued to push forward in search of a goal, but it never came, and the match ended in a 0-1 defeat. It was the team’s first home loss in the Osaka Derby since the 2018 season — a bitter result that Shunta Tanaka summed up simply as “just incredibly frustrating.” Before the match, the support from fans had reached a fever pitch, with not only the goal-end stand but also the main and back stands forming a spectacular choreograph to boost the team. “We weren’t able to repay the supporters who created such an amazing atmosphere,” said manager Papas with disappointment. At the same time, the manager vowed further growth, saying, “We need to double down on our football and become stronger.” Turning this bitter Osaka Derby loss into fuel, the team will continue striving for greater strength together through the rest of the season.