Review: Cerezo Osaka 2-0 Kawasaki Frontale (J1 MD35) | Official website

Two lightning-fast goals and a long-awaited clean sheet. Cerezo Osaka secured a convincing victory over Kawasaki Frontale with well-coordinated attack and defense.

Six days after their first victory in five matches against Fagiano Okayama, Cerezo Osaka hosted Kawasaki Frontale in the 35th round of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League, aiming to extend their winning streak. The starting lineup featured one change from the Okayama game: Masaya Shibayama replaced Shion Homma, taking the right-wing position, while Thiago Andrade returned to the left wing. With their last home win coming over two and a half months ago against Albirex Niigata in Round 25, Cerezo were determined to secure a victory on home turf this time.

Right from the start, Cerezo created chances. GK Koki Fukui sent a long feed to Thiago, and after Rafael Ratao collected the second ball, the play went through Hinata Kida, Ayumu Ohata, Thiago, Ratao, and Motohiko Nakajima, with Ohata eventually entering the penalty area. He fired a left-footed shot, but it was narrowly saved by the goalkeeper. This sequence reflected Cerezo’s aggressive intent from the outset—“forward, forward” as Shunta Tanaka described—and in the 4th minute, they opened the scoring. Ryosuke Shindo, Hayato Okuda, and Tanaka formed a neat triangle to bypass the opponent’s press, and Tanaka quickly switched the play to the opposite side. Thiago, breaking free down the left, delivered a direct cross, which Ratao calmly controlled and finished in one touch at the far post. This marked Ratao’s second consecutive match with a goal, taking his tally to 15 and bringing him just three behind top scorer Leo Ceara. Cerezo’s momentum continued, and in the 7th minute they added a second. Launching a wave of attacks, Tanaka reacted to a loose ball after Shibayama’s cut-in cross was poorly cleared by the opposition, smashing it into the net. The goal came in front of students from Tanaka’s former middle school, who had been invited to watch, making for a brilliant moment. In the 17th minute, Thiago cut in from the left and fired a shot toward a good angle, but Kawasaki’s GK Rui Yamaguchi denied it. “The start was probably the best we’ve had all season,” Arthur Papas reflected after the match, highlighting Cerezo’s stunning opening. Kawasaki created a chance on the counter in the 20th minute, but Tatsuya Ito’s shot was superbly blocked by Fukui on his face. “I could position myself well,” Fukui said, calmly handling the one-on-one. Ohata also kept close pressure on Kawasaki’s key player Ito, preventing him from making plays. Aside from that 20-minute moment, he almost perfectly contained the opponent for the rest of the time. In the 24th minute, Marcio scored from a free kick, but it was ruled offside. Afterward, Kawasaki controlled possession for a period, but Cerezo responded in first-half stoppage time with a near chance. It started with Ohata stopping Ito’s breakthrough, after which Nakajima used his body skillfully to dribble forward and play a through pass to Thiago on the left. Thiago advanced with the ball and passed to Ratao in the center. It was a completely broken defensive shape, though Ratao’s shot just missed the target. While it wasn’t a decisive third goal, Cerezo fully demonstrated their attacking strengths and went into halftime leading 2-0, just as their coach had said before the match: “We’ll play to make the most of our strengths against any opponent.”

Cerezo Osaka had the first chances in the second half. In the 48th minute, Thiago broke through on a through ball from Tanaka and took a shot, only for the goalkeeper to make a fine save. Two minutes later, Nakajima won the ball in a high position, leading to a short counter and a promising opportunity for Shibayama, but no shot could be taken. Kawasaki, who made two substitutions and changed their midfield formation from the start of the second half, continued to hold possession. In the 59th minute, they stole the ball in Cerezo’s own half and created a dangerous chance, but Ito’s shot was once again superbly saved by Fukui. Fukui also made an excellent save from Yasuto Wakizaka’s shot in the 64th minute. Immediately after, Cerezo had a big chance from a counterattack: moving the ball quickly forward through Shibayama, Thiago, and Nakajima, Nakajima unleashed a shot toward the near-top corner, but the goalkeeper blocked it. Although Cerezo was pressed by Kawasaki in the second half, they solidly defended the central areas, pushed attacks to the wings, and cleared incoming crosses, preventing any clear-cut chances. “We had enough players in front of the goal, and nothing collapsed badly. The forward players also limited the space, so there were very few dangerous situations,” Shindo reflected, noting that the players in central positions remained composed and closed down the game effectively. Cerezo achieved a clean sheet for the first time in 16 league matches. “Even in the second half, when they had the ball, we were able to defend physically at the crucial moments. We want to continue that kind of resilient defending,” Tanaka said, marking this as a valuable performance heading into the final three matches of the season.

After the match, a banner supporting the injured Lucas Fernandez was displayed behind the goal, and the entire Yodoko Sakura Stadium seemed united in celebrating Cerezo’s first home victory in about two and a half months. “All the players did really well. I think it was a wonderful day for the supporters as well,” the manager said with a broad smile as he left the stadium.