Review: Cerezo Osaka vs JEF United Chiba (J1 MD12)

Drama in stoppage time as Cerezo come from the brink of defeat to draw level through goals from Solomon Sakuragawa and Yumeki Yokoyama.

Three days after their previous match, Matchweek 11 of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League against Nagoya Grampus, Cerezo Osaka returned home to face JEF United Chiba in Matchweek 12. It was Cerezo’s first J1 meeting with Chiba in 20 years, since 2006. This was the sixth match of an eight-game run of consecutive competitive fixtures. There were three changes to the starting lineup from the previous match, with Jackson Irvine and Ayumu Ohata returning from suspension and Takumi Nakamura coming in at right wing-back.



The rain that had been a concern was light, and the match began in conditions with no wind. Cerezo took control from the outset, moving the ball into the opposition half, quickly transitioning after losing possession, and winning it back high up the pitch to keep Chiba pinned back. However, Cerezo were unable to get shots away or create clear-cut chances, and Chiba gradually began to threaten more often. Erison in particular caused problems. In the 21st minute, he carried the ball into the penalty area on his own and created danger, but Rikito Inoue tracked back to block him. Cerezo defended desperately, but conceded soon after. In the 23rd minute, Erison controlled a cross from the left side of Chiba’s half and fired a shot. Kosuke Nakamura made a big save, but Chiba recovered the resulting clearance and launched a second attack, with Makoto Himeno finishing from Erison’s pass. Dion Cools, who had been appealing for offside in the preceding play, was caught off guard. Cerezo looked to step up their attack from there, but struggled to connect their passes in the first half, making it difficult to move forward smoothly or get shots away. Their only chance came in the 36th minute. Pablo Sabbag initiated the move and switched play to the left. Ayumu Ohata crossed, and Yota Komi met it, but Koji Toriumi blocked his effort. Cerezo went into halftime a goal down, having failed to create enough clear-cut chances.





In the second half, manager Pablo Machin brought on Solomon Sakuragawa for Takumi Nakamura, switching to a 4-4-2 with Sakuragawa and Sabbag up front. Cerezo looked to fight back, but conceded a second goal in the 47th minute. Once again, they were unable to stop Erison, who carried the ball forward on his own before scoring with a middle-range effort. Cerezo refused to let the match end that way and began spending more time on the front foot, with Sakuragawa providing a focal point up front, and when Yumeki Yokoyama came on in the 67th minute, their attack accelerated further. In the 77th minute, a cross from Yokoyama after cutting inside eventually fell to Tanaka in a scramble, but his effort went just wide. Yokoyama cut inside and shot again in the 81st and 82nd minutes, with the first effort going over the crossbar and the second denied by a fine save from the goalkeeper. In the 87th minute, Yokoyama broke forward down the flank and crossed. Irvine picked up the ball after it went through to the opposite side and crossed for Sabbag, who met it with a header, but his effort missed the target. Cerezo continued to push forward in the second half but could not find a goal, before showing their fighting spirit in stoppage time. First, in the 94th minute, Inoue made a huge play with a desperate block to deny a Chiba chance. Then, in the 96th minute, Inoue flicked on Shinji Kagawa’s corner at the near post, and Sakuragawa, surrounded by Chiba defenders, controlled it with his chest before scoring with a shot he “forced in through sheer determination.” The goal completely changed the atmosphere inside the stadium. Then, in the 98th minute, Ohata battled to win back possession, and Yokoyama cut inside on the dribble before unleashing his right foot. His beautifully curling shot flew into the far-side netting. A minute later, Sabbag received Kagawa’s pass, turned and shot. He created a good opportunity, but his effort went over the crossbar, and Cerezo could not complete the comeback. The match ended immediately afterward. Cerezo came from the brink of defeat to draw level and earn a point.





While the ending was dramatic, Chiba had controlled the match overall. For Cerezo, it was a performance that heightened a sense of urgency. “As for today, I absolutely don’t want us to finish by simply saying, ‘At least we managed to draw,’” Kagawa said with a stern expression. Cerezo now face two away matches in quick succession, with the Levain Cup against Mito Hollyhock in two days, followed by a league match against Kashima Antlers another two days later. As they head into the final week of this run of consecutive matches, Cerezo will look to recover both physically and mentally while addressing the issues from this performance.