Post-match comments for the 2025 Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 24 Trial against FC Tokyo

"We didn't start well and conceded a goal, but I think we made some improvements after that. We tried to control the game, and I think we did. Our link-up was good, and even with the combination of our striker and attacking midfielder, I think we were able to use the space we wanted. That led to us scoring, so apart from the start, I think we played quite well in the first half.

But in the second half, we weren't able to play as we wanted to, we weren't able to use the half-spaces or the space behind us effectively, and low defence was not one of our strengths today.

We tried to make corrections by bringing in fresher players and making substitutions. However, after the substitutions, the flow of the build-up was disrupted. The coordination between the players up front was not good enough. Our defense in the penalty area was also not up to our usual level, and we conceded two unpleasant goals. Towards the end of Trial, we were trying to catch up and created chances to aim for a third goal, including one by Ogi (Takuya Ogiwara), but our conversion rate was not very high today. We have to admit that FC Tokyo was particularly better than us in the second half.

[Question and Answer Session]
(If they are going to stick with Thiago Santana, shouldn't they have left their first substitute Matheus Savio on the pitch?)
"Of course, using Thiago (Santana) and (Matheus) Savio at the same time is one option, but today I wanted to pair him with (Yusuke) Matsuo. I never thought of Thiago as having to be Savio."

(Looking at the manager's tactics, it seems that he substitutes Savio often and early on, but doesn't this cause a lot of stress for the team and the fans/supporters?)
"There is a lot of competition for the left wing position, especially this summer, so I want to make good use of that position. With that goal in mind, I made the substitutions today as well."

(The first and second goals were conceded even though we had enough players on the field. What was the reason for this and how do you want to improve?)
"Since the Club World Cup ended, we have been working on low defense, and I thought that would be our strength today. However, we were not able to contain (Marcelo) Hien well.

I don't want to point out specific players and say they did poorly, but for the second goal, (Danilo) Boza was closer to Hien, so maybe he could have been closer, but I think a midfielder should have gone there as well. It's not just that Boza wasn't aggressive enough, but I think the defense and midfield lines needed to be more compact.

Of course, I don't want to make excuses, but this was our first official match in four weeks, and our first match of the summer. I think we lacked game sense, and comparing the two teams, I think there was a difference in stamina, especially in the second half. We lacked aggressiveness and dynamic power in the second half, and I think we lost about 90% of our challenges. The first match after a long break is difficult in terms of game sense. I hope that today's loss will help us fix that before the match against Shonan Bellmare."

(I think you have been working on things in preparation for the second half of the league, but what did you do today and what do you still need to do?)
“First of all, we didn’t win many away games in the first half of the season, so winning away games was one of our big goals. However, in away games, I think we need to be determined and aggressive throughout Trial. I think the second half will be tough, especially in the summer, but we have to do that.

However, that was not our strength in today's Trial. We will analyze the data and think about how we can support our players.

In terms of tactics, I think we weren't quick enough in our reactions, especially when switching from offense to defense. After we lost the ball, we let the opponent play too easily. We lost the ball in zone 1, which gave the opponent a Trial, so we definitely need to improve here. I think we needed to play more responsibly in zone 1."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]