Review: Cerezo Osaka 1-2 Kyoto Sanga F.C. (J1 MD32)

Cerezo drew level in the second half and kept pressing hard, but couldn’t turn the game around. Brought down by two set-piece goals, they succumbed to the determination of title-chasing Kyoto Sanga F.C.

Four days after suffering a 1–3 comeback defeat to Kashima Antlers in the previous match, Cerezo Osaka hosted third-place Kyoto Sanga F.C. at home in the Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 32. Manager Papas made ten changes to the starting lineup, retaining only Shinnosuke Hatanaka from the last match, as the team faced the Kansai derby in full force.



Just three minutes into the match, Cerezo faced an early scare when Kyoto broke through the center, but Rikito Inoue—playing against his former club—stepped in to block the shot. In the 10th minute, another dangerous moment arose from a Kyoto cross, but Inoue once again reacted quickly to clear the second ball, his No. 31 shirt symbolizing sharp defensive awareness. Eager to launch a counterattack, Cerezo instead saw the game take an unexpected turn. In the 12th minute Kyoto’s Rafael Elias went down after contact, followed by Lucas Fernandes in the 19th, forcing both key players to be substituted as early as the 25th minute. Responding to the emergency, Shion Homma came on at right wing. “Unlike Lucas, I tried to play closer to players like Shiba (Shibayama) and Shinji-san, getting touches inside and keeping good spacing,” he said after the match, aiming to bring a new dimension to the attack. As time went on, he settled in, repeatedly creating chances in the second half and delivering a performance above passing grade. The first half, however, proved difficult for Cerezo to find rhythm, as they spent long stretches under pressure. Still, they held firm—Shinji Kagawa tracked back to block a shot in the 31st minute, and Hatanaka threw his body in the way in the 36th. But in the 44th minute, they finally conceded from a corner kick. Taiki Hirato drove a low ball to the near side, a clever dummy followed, and Temma Matsuda finished the move. Having allowed a similar goal against Avispa Fukuoka in Round 29, Cerezo could only rue their lack of vigilance. During the eight minutes of first-half stoppage time, Cerezo finally pushed into the attacking third, but they couldn’t find an equalizer and went into the break trailing by a single goal.





Kyoto opened the second half on the front foot, earning a string of set pieces, but Cerezo held firm and soon created a chance of their own. In the 54th minute, a corner from Masaya Shibayama found Dion Cools making a clever run to the near post, but his header shaved past the outside of the frame. Just three minutes later, the same combination struck again—Shibayama’s near-post delivery, Cools’ sharp connection—and this time the ball nestled inside the goal for the equalizer. It was a memorable first goal for Cools since joining the club, a technically executed finish that left him proudly noting afterward, “Set pieces are one of our strengths.” The defender also shone in duels, matching or outmuscling opponents all evening, a performance worthy of Man of the Match had Cerezo gone on to win. As Kyoto’s pressing intensity waned, Cerezo began to enjoy more freedom, breaking lines and pushing numbers forward. In the 67th minute, Homma sent in a cross that found Kagawa, but the veteran couldn’t get clean contact on his shot. In the 73rd, a clever layoff from Rafael Ratao off a pass from Shunta Tanaka set up another big chance for Homma, only for a defender’s block to deny him. “In the first half we were feeling things out, but by the end we started to find the spaces and push them back. In the second half I was able to become more of a focal point and play while reading the opponent,” Shibayama reflected afterward. Despite creating opportunities and carrying the momentum, Cerezo failed to land the decisive second goal. Then, in the 87th minute, substitute striker Shun Nagasawa rose at the near post to head home a corner, putting Kyoto back in front. Forced once again to chase the game, Cerezo threw everything forward—bringing on Motohiko Nakajima and Vitor Bueno and earning four consecutive corners deep into stoppage time—but they couldn’t break through. The match ended 1–2, a defeat that saw Cerezo succumb to the sheer determination of a Kyoto side fighting to keep their title hopes alive.





After the match, Rikito Inoue, who had battled hard against his former club, reflected on the defensive lapses: “Honestly, it didn’t feel like we were going to concede from open play, but both goals came from set pieces where they exploited brief moments of space. We’ve been conceding from set pieces quite a bit, so we need to come up with better ways to defend them and make adjustments,” he said, pointing to an area for improvement. Shibayama and Homma, who were central to Cerezo’s attacking chances, both highlighted a lack of “killer instinct” as the key shortcoming. Manager Arthur Papas commented: “There are no shortcuts to making the team stronger—we have to build step by step. But I have no intention of waiting four or five years to challenge for a title. We need to accelerate the process and create a team that can fight for the championship as soon as possible.” For Cerezo, the six-match stretch against top-ranked opponents in August and September ended winless at three draws and three losses. Closing the gap they have felt firsthand against title-contending sides will require a collective effort throughout the club—an urgent lesson to carry forward.