On the 20th, after the Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 9 match against Gamba Osaka [MATCH PARTNER Medical Care Services], Shusaku Nishikawa reflected on today's match and spoke about his approach to the next match.

"We had the ball, but we didn't have many real chances. There were some difficult moments because we had an opponent. I think we were able to do what we wanted to do better than we did in the match against Kashiwa Reysol, but they scored with one chance, and we had to play catch-up from then on. If you ask me if we could have done something before that, I think the answer is yes. We need to focus on ourselves and make the necessary adjustments."

(Was it because the opponents were too good that Gamba OSAKA 's build-up was difficult to thwart?)
"In the first half, we were attacked on the sides a few times, but we were prepared for that as long as we could cover for each other. In the second half, even before we conceded a goal, we were also losing the ball in close quarters, which made us realize just how important it is to not lose in those areas."

(I don't think the opponent had that many shots.)
"I think that if we could have been more fearsome while in possession of the ball during the 90 minutes of the match, while always being well prepared, it would have been better for the team. I think everyone felt that we could have done more. That was what we were saying."

(The opposing player Welton moved to the left wing of the Reds, but what about the alert for that?)
"Before that, they had been targeting the space behind (Watanabe) Ryoma with long balls and other things, and there were moments when they almost got into trouble and moments when they were saved by handball. I think they saw that and made some changes. We were careful, but the fact that we were caught out is something that everyone needs to reflect on."

(That shot was a difficult one, wasn't it?)
"I believe there are areas for improvement. I would like to combine my own intuition with the advice of the goalkeeping team while watching videos."

(But what about the losing streak?)
"If we start looking down now, we'll just keep falling further and further, and there's still a long season ahead. What's important now is to focus on what we can do and what we've accomplished. At times like this, we tend to blame others, but I want to behave well, including myself, so that we can move in a positive direction."

(The next league game will also be a home game, but what about the YBC Levain Cup in between?)
"If we can achieve good results there, we can return home in a good mood. One of our strengths this season has been not losing at home, but as we lost today, we sent home saddened fans and supporters who came to the match, and each and every one of us will take full responsibility for this and fight hard in the Levain Cup."

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[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]