Review: Cerezo Osaka 1-1 Kashiwa Reysol (J1 MD30)

Cerezo displayed clear growth from the last matchup, battling Kashiwa to a hard-fought draw and earning a valuable point despite missed chances.

Six days after their come-from-behind win away to Avispa Fukuoka, Cerezo Osaka returned home to face third-place Kashiwa Reysol in the 30th round of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League. Manager Arthur Papas made three changes from the Fukuoka match, bringing Shinnosuke Hatanaka, Kyohei Yoshino, and Motohiko Nakajima out of the lineup and starting Ryosuke Shindo, Shunta Tanaka, and Rafael Ratao in their places, each slotting into the same positions.



Before the match, the “Meiji Yasuda Super Legends Match 2025” was held, featuring Cerezo Osaka Legends vs Meiji Yasuda Super Legends. With goals from Yoichiro Kakitani and Yasuhito Morishima, Cerezo Osaka Legends earned a 2–0 victory. In front of a large crowd of supporters, both teams’ players put on a spirited performance, creating a vibrant and exciting pre-game atmosphere. Following this star-studded opening event, the J1 fixture kicked off, and the first clear chance fell to Cerezo. In the 2nd minute, starting from Shinji Kagawa, the ball was moved quickly with one-touch passes through Lucas Fernandes and Rafael Ratao, breaking through the center. The move ended with Masaya Shibayama striking with his left foot, but the shot missed the target by a narrow margin. In the 9th minute, Yuto Yamada of Kashiwa fired a shot from the middle, but Rikito Inoue made the block—his second successive game with such defensive heroics. Although Cerezo were pushed back for a spell, in the 15th minute Ayumu Ohata played a pass in behind on the left side. Thiago Andrade burst forward and sent in a cross, where Lucas came flying in from the far side for a shot that went straight to goalkeeper Kojima. With pressing high up the pitch and maintaining strong defensive intensity, Cerezo’s start was promising. However, in the 25th minute they conceded. After receiving the ball from goalkeeper Koki Fukui, Shindo attempted a pass toward midfield, but it was intercepted. Kashiwa quickly launched a short counterattack, and Mao Hosoya applied the finishing touch. Even so, as manager Arthur Papas later noted, “I thought our reaction after conceding was good.” Cerezo did not drop their heads and struck back in the 41st minute. Starting with Fukui, the ball moved through Inoue, Thiago, and Ohata, who combined down the left. Ohata then carried the ball inside and fed Shibayama in the center. Drawing two defenders, Shibayama released a final pass to the right, where Lucas fired home from a tight angle to level the score. Moments later, Cerezo almost took the lead again. Intercepting a Kashiwa pass, Kagawa initiated a central breakthrough. From Shibayama’s pass, Thiago unleashed a shot, but it went wide, leaving the first half to end in a 1–1 stalemate.





In the second half, Cerezo were forced to endure from the start as Kashiwa dominated possession. Their pressing failed to bite, and they were pinned deep in their own half, stretched from side to side in a tough spell, but Shindo said afterward, “We held firm.” On the flanks, Dion Cools and Ohata battled fiercely, while in front of goal Shindo and Inoue repeatedly cleared danger. In the 62nd minute, Yoshio Koizumi carried the ball forward and found the net, but after an on-field review supported by VAR, the referee ruled that a Kashiwa player in an offside position had interfered with play, and the goal was disallowed. In the 66th minute, Cerezo made a triple substitution, bringing on Nakajima, Shion Homma, and Yoshino to increase their work rate and press from the front, pushing back the momentum that had tilted toward Kashiwa. In the 73rd minute, Kagawa delivered a fine forward pass to spark a counterattack. Cools laid the ball off for Lucas, who drove forward and struck a shot. The goalkeeper saved, and Nakajima went for the rebound but failed to make clean contact. In the closing stages, Cerezo again spent long stretches defending as Kashiwa controlled possession, but not only the back line—Kagawa also tracked back to clear danger as the entire team defended stubbornly to deny any clear chances. Then, in the second minute of stoppage time, Cerezo created a golden opportunity. Nakajima held the ball expertly before switching play to Lucas on the right. Spotting the forward runs of Yoshino and Homma, Lucas slipped a perfectly weighted pass into the space behind. “I saw Yoshino as well, but he was offside, so I chose to play it to Homma on the far side,” Lucas explained. Homma went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his former teammate at Albirex Niigata, goalkeeper Kojima, made the save. “There was a bit of a mind game, but it was a chance I absolutely had to finish. I can only say it was a bitter miss,” Homma said ruefully.





The match ended in a 1–1 draw. Although Cerezo were forced to endure long spells of Kashiwa possession in the second half, their defense held firm to keep a clean sheet after the break—a key positive to take away. “We created the better-quality chances and the clearer finishing situations,” manager Papas noted, pointing out that Cerezo outnumbered Kashiwa in decisive opportunities over the full 90 minutes. Goal-scorer Lucas Fernandes reflected, “There were stretches where they controlled the game, but we stayed focused defensively until the end. From that solid base we also created big chances, so we definitely had a shot at winning. It’s frustrating not to take all three points, but we have to see this as a positive draw.” Next up is a quick turnaround with an away clash against Kashima Antlers in just two days. “If I get the chance, I’ll play with the mindset to deliver results,” said Homma, determined to channel the frustration from this match into the upcoming fixture despite the short preparation time.