Review: Nagoya Grampus vs Cerezo Osaka (J1 MD11)

Cerezo earn a point at a difficult stadium after conceding in the 3rd minute but drawing level through Pablo Sabbag’s first J1 goal.

Three days after the Meiji Yasuda J1 League Matchweek 10 game against Kawasaki Frontale, Cerezo Osaka returned to action in a midweek fixture, traveling away to face Nagoya Grampus in Matchweek 11 of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League. There were two changes to the starting lineup from the previous match. Jackson Irvine and Ayumu Ohata, who were suspended, dropped out, with Shinji Kagawa moving into midfield and Javi Hernandez starting as the left wing-back.



After conceding as early as the 10th minute in the previous match, Cerezo began this game with greater caution, but they conceded even earlier this time, in the 3rd minute. Javi slipped while dealing with a long ball from the opposition and collided with his opponent. Nagoya recovered the ball as it went out toward the flank and were allowed to cross unchallenged, with Katsuhiro Nakayama heading home from the opposite side. It was somewhat unlucky, but once again Cerezo found themselves chasing the game from the very beginning, and Nagoya controlled the flow from there. Cerezo were forced deep as Nagoya dominated possession, with crosses from both flanks creating danger. During this period, the wind and rain suddenly intensified, at one point becoming strong enough to obscure visibility. Cerezo’s front players pressed in the first half, but the back line remained deep, and they struggled to win possession back. Their first chance came in the 26th minute. Sabbag won the ball high up the pitch, and Yota Komi broke down the flank before playing it inside. Shunta Tanaka received it in the near-zone, beat another opponent and cut the ball back from a deep position, with Hayato Okuda meeting it. He struck it first time and on target, but his effort was blocked by a defender. Javi reacted to the loose ball and followed up with another clear chance, but the Nagoya defense cleared it just before the goal line. Nagoya resumed their attacking pressure during the final 10 minutes of the half, but goalkeeper Kosuke Nakamura made a fine save to prevent them from doubling their lead. Cerezo survived a difficult first half with only one goal conceded, giving themselves a foundation for the second half.





In the second half, Cerezo dropped their defensive line more clearly to deal with Nagoya’s attacks. As manager Pablo Machin explained after the match, Cerezo made their approach clear: “Basically, Nagoya attack with five players pushed forward, and then add another one or two from there. Against that, we went into the second half intending to match them with the same number of players and, after winning the ball, to counterattack by targeting the spaces beside them.” In the 56th minute, Sabbag received Tanaka’s pass, held the ball up and laid it off, allowing Lucas Fernandes to run through one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The play was eventually ruled offside, but Cerezo began to find more opportunities to get in behind Nagoya. Then, in the 62nd minute, Cerezo drew level. Rikito Inoue beat his opponent and played a ball into the middle. Sabbag controlled it and sent it forward to Lucas. Lucas’ first touch was loose, but he recovered the ball well and turned toward goal. At that moment, Sabbag drifted outward as he jostled with his marker and adjusted his position. He received Lucas’ pass, carried the ball forward and fired with his left foot. The shot took a deflection off the leg of a defender closing him down, changing its course before it nestled into the far-side netting. For Sabbag, it was a welcome first J1 goal. Having found the net in consecutive Levain Cup matches and built up his form, he finally scored his long-awaited first league goal. After the match, he said emphatically, “From here, I want to work even harder so I can contribute a lot to the team, keep pushing myself to reach new levels, score goals that bring victories to the team, and play in a way that makes the fans happy.” With the home side Nagoya stepping up their attack from there, Cerezo also introduced attacking substitutes in an attempt to find a second goal, bringing on Satoki Uejo, Solomon Sakuragawa, and Reiya Sakata. There were moments when the substitutes got in behind from moves initiated by Kagawa and Tanaka and came close to creating chances, but Cerezo could not turn them into clear-cut opportunities. Nagoya then created a series of chances late on, but Cerezo’s defenders put their bodies on the line to keep Nagoya from scoring, and the match ended 1-1. Given that Cerezo had conceded after just three minutes away from home, the result could be regarded as a valuable point earned.





Looking back on the match, Kagawa said, “From our experience at Toyota Stadium, we often concede a second goal here and then collapse. Even though we were 0-1 down, we talked at halftime about not conceding a second goal and creating our own rhythm while weathering the pressure. I think it was good that we were able to put that into practice.” Cerezo fought tenaciously to earn a valuable point at a stadium where they have struggled. However, this extended their league winless run to six matches. With the next match back at home against JEF United Chiba, three points will be essential. “The next match is a big one. We haven’t won in these last six matches, so for the next home game in this situation, we have to put pressure on ourselves even before the match and tell ourselves, ‘We absolutely have to win.’ We want to make good preparations,” Kagawa said. Cerezo will look to fight together to secure a win that can turn their fortunes around.