Gamba Osaka 1-0 Sagan Tosu
While Vissel’s situation is quite sad and disappointing, it pales in comparison to what’s happening at Sagan Tosu. A consistent flag-bearer for Kyushu in the J1 since their promotion in 2012, Sagan went from consistently challenging for a top-half finish or finishing solidly mid-table to relegation battlers in both last season and this season. Sagan’s squad this season bore a number of notable names, such as Victor Ibarbo, the former Cagliari man who was a stable for FIFA Ultimate Team players during his heydays, now out on loan in J2 side V-Varen Nagasaki.
Mu Kanazaki, a key player for Nagoya Grampus and Kashima Antlers during his heydays is also part of the squad, so is Yohei Toyoda, who isn’t aging well but was Sagan’s talisman during their early J1 days, as well as Isaac Cuenca, a former Barcelona and Ajax player. Fernando Torres ended his career with Sagan Tosu, and his final match, supposedly a farewell to his long and decorated career in a match against Andres Iniesta’s Vissel Kobe, ended in a 6-1 demolition.
Financial problems and the inability of players to adapt to the tactics of previous manager Lluis Carreras’ tactics were blamed for Sagan’s plight this season, and current manager Kim Myung-hwi, despite somewhat steadying the ship, is still battling to prevent his team from falling into the relegation trapdoor.
Match week 26 saw Sagan take on fallen giants Gamba Osaka in a relegation six-pointer at the Panasonic Stadium Suita and with the high stakes at hand, both teams knew that a win would help their poor season dearly. Prior to the match, Gamba are just one point above Sagan in the relegation play-off zone, and both Sagan’s Myung-hwi and Gamba manager Tsuneyasu Miyamoto played their best squads with victory clearly in their minds. The match played out as a close encounter, as expected from a match between two teams desperate for points.
However, Gamba came out on top thanks to substitute Kazuma Watanabe, who scored a sublime header to ensure the three points for the blue side of Osaka. Sagan’s woes continue as they were condemned to the relegation play-off spot, five points adrift from safety, while Gamba are now 12th as part of that tight traffic going in and out of the J1 relegation zone.
Kashima Antlers 2-0 FC Tokyo
FC Tokyo have dominated the 2019 J1 season so far, leading the table in 20 out of 25 match weeks. While any result against 2nd placed Kashima Antlers in a clash between titans won’t affect FC Tokyo’s position in the standings, they knew that anything less than a win would hamper the capital side’s charge for their maiden league title.
Kenta Hasegawa, a certified title winner with Gamba Osaka in 2014, looks set to add more to his accolades this season with his exciting FC Tokyo side, which bore the goals of Diego Oliveira and had Takefusa Kubo “graduating” to the glitz and glamour of the Spanish La Liga in the process. However, looking to make the title race a more exciting affair is Kashima Antlers, the current Champions of Asia and currently breathing down FC Tokyo’s neck.
Manager Go Oiwa retained the bulk of the squad that finished 3rd and won the ACL last season with Gen Shoji leaving for Toulouse and Yuma Suzuki leaving for Sint-Truiden the only notable exits, creating the closest challenger to FC Tokyo’s exciting upstarts. Thus, their matchup in match week 26 was an exciting one that could decide the season’s title.
FC Tokyo had trounced Kashima 3-1 at the Ajinomoto the last time they met in the league, and Kashima were eager to settle the score at home. And they did just that – Bueno and Leo Silva were the scorers as Kashima ran out 2-0 winners over a bewildered FC Tokyo, who saw their chance of running away with the title go up in smoke. FC Tokyo may still lead the league, but Kashima’s win meant that the title race is well and truly back on. The next eight matches will be vital for these two, as any slip-up can lead to their rival getting the advantage. FC Tokyo may now hold the upper-hand standings-wise, but they know that they’re no longer safe with Kashima only a point behind them.