J1 League 2020: Gamba Osaka vs Yokohama F. Marinos

No team would have wanted to play against Gamba Osaka at this juncture, with the Osaka-based side winning all of their last six matches whereas there seems to be no end to Yokohama F. Marinos’ topsy-turvy start. The reigning champions started the J1 League campaign on a poor note and never seemed to revive from the early debacle.

Though the midweek fixture between Gamba Osaka and Yokohama F. Marinos wasn’t an end to end affair, it was equally balanced and the scoreline does seem fair. Even the xG of both the teams were quite similar. Gamba Osaka had 2.06 xG whereas Yokohama F. Marinos accumulated 1.72 xG.

In this tactical analysis, we will discuss the tactics of both the managers and the intricacies of the game.

Lineup

Tsuneyasu Miyamoto shuffled between 4-4-2 and 3-5-2, however, the most used formation was 4-4-2. Against the Marinos, Miyamoto opted for his preferred 4-4-2. The Gamba Osaka gaffer made just one change to their previous fixture against FC Tokyo. Kosuke Onose started the game in place of Ademilson and he was slotted in the right-wing. Takashi Usami, former Bayern Munich loanee, who played as the right-winger in the previous fixture partnered Patric up top.

Angelos Postecoglou, the former Melbourne Victory gaffer, opted for a 4-3-3 formation against Gamba. However, in-game it moulded into different shapes in different situations. Out of possession, the Marinos defended mostly with 5-2-3 and in possession, the away side shuffled between a two-man backline and three-man backline. There were numerous changes to the lineup that faced Oita Trinita in the weekend. The midfield looked completely different with Takuya Kida and Jun Amano, making way for Takahiro Ogihara and Kota Watanebe. Erik and Marcos Júnior slotted into the wings and Ryuta Koike replaced Ken Matsubura as the right-back.

Gamba’s first phase of build-up

The Marinos pressed Gamba relatively high with the striker generally cover shadowing one of the Gamba midfielders. The wingers sat between Gamba’s centre-backs and the full-backs in the half space with the option of pressing the respective centre-back and the full-back as well as partially cover the passing lane to the winger who has inverted to the half space. If the ball is played to one of the centre-backs, the immediate Marinos winger pressed the centre-back with an out to in movement, thus pressing the centre-back putting a cover shadow on the full-back.