J1 League 2020: Yokohama F. Marinos vs Gamba Osaka – tactical analysis

When the fixtures were released for the 2020 J1 League season, the 2019 champions, Yokohama F. Marinos, will have been one side that most would have been keen to avoid. However, it fell upon Gamba Osaka to travel to the Nissan Stadium for their opening game of the season.

Having finished 23 points behind their hosts last season while finishing seventh in the J1 League, Gamba Osaka had to deliver a David versus Goliath-esque display to claim anything, which they did.

In what was almost a statistical oddity the away side were able to deliver what was a near-perfect underdog display to claim a 2-1 victory over Yokohama F. Marinos, who remain one of the favourites to retain their league title.

This tactical analysis will breakdown the clash between the two and highlight key tactics used by both sides, then use analysis to show how they impacted the game’s outcome.

Lineups

For their opening game of the season, Ange Postecoglou opted for Marinos’ tried and trusted 4-2-3-1 formation, remaining unchanged from their 4-0 victory over Sydney FC in an AFC Champions League group stage game last time out. In terms of personnel changes from the tie with the Australian side, only one was made. Goalkeeper Yuji Kajikawa was replaced by the South Korean stopper, Park Iru-gyu.

In the away side’s dugout, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto proved himself to be incredibly fluid in terms of starting formation over the duration of last season. Against Marinos, he opted for a 4-1-4-1 that looked like the 5-4-1, as shown on the Wyscout graphic, when the side was out of possession. Following the 1-0 home defeat in the first J. League Cup game of the season against Kashiwa Reysol, two changes were made. Ryo Shinzato and Yuya Fukuda were dropped in favour of Oh Jae-suk and Yasuhito Endō.