[St. Germain sweeps J.League] Three strong teams benefit as J.League trend sweeps in

With the global epidemic gradually easing, European powers restarted their summer Asian

try to make a fortune

Tour. Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain traveled to Japan in the summer for a friendly exchange with three JSL teams - Kawasaki Frontale, Urawa and Gamba Osaka. Today, let's take a look at these three exciting matches.

●2022.7.20 Kawasaki Frontale 1:2 Paris Saint-Germain

With the Japanese national team preparing for the final week of the East Asian Cup at the end of July, the JFL had to make way for the national team, and the big guns were given the chance to play friendlies against the European giants, with Kawasaki Vanguard being the first team to challenge Paris Saint-Germain.

The visiting team Paris Saint-Germain fielded three stars - Zimrha, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar - and with the enthusiastic support of the home fans, a crowd of 64,922 poured into the Tokyo National Stadium. In addition, the attraction of the friendly was evident in the 9.2% TV rating, which surpassed the 7.9% for the subsequent East Asian Cup match between Japan and China.

Kawasaki Strikers were absent due to the absence of three main players, namely Akigo Taniguchi, Yoshinori Yamane and Taidou Wakizaka, who are participating in the East Asian Cup with the Japanese team. However, Cheng Sung-ryong, Shintaro Cheya, Chainat, Lee Ando Damio and Akihiro Parental, who are still in the starting lineup, are not to be underestimated. As for St. Germain, apart from the above three stars, Shazio Ramos, Kianlucki-Donnarumma, and Marquin Haas are also in the starting lineup, so the visiting team can be said to be very strong.

Saint-Germain is coached by Gadea in this tournament, and the players naturally gave their all on the field in an effort to win over their new coach. Early on in the match, Saint-Germain took the initiative and created a number of threats in front of the Kawasaki Strikers' goal, but all of them were deflected by Jung Sung Ryong, including blocking Mbappe's half-volley. The passive Kawasaki Frontale could only rely on the occasional counter-attack to threaten the visitors' goal, but neither Ma Cenu nor Kichiya Kentaro could get their shots past Donnarumma's fingers.

In the middle of the first half, Saint-Germain began to strengthen the attack, but Mbappe's chain of shots was once again parried by Zheng Chenglong, and Meis's shot was also blocked by Chaina Post. In the 32nd minute, St. Germain finally broke the deadlock, Mace received a pass from Ashraf on the right side of the penalty area and shot with his right foot, the ball hit the defender Deng Li Xiangping and changed direction into the net, and Zheng Chenglong couldn't save the ball. St. Germain took a 1-0 lead in the first half.

In the second half, St. Germain withdrew some of their starters, with Mbappe and Neymar being substituted at the same time; Kawasaki Striker also substituted the likes of Kei Zhinen and Kazuya Yamakawa, in an effort to work out their team during the game. Shortly after the restart of the match, substitute Seguro got a golden opportunity inside the St. Germain penalty area, but he shot high at the goal unattended; then Seguro took another shot from outside the penalty area, but it was also parried by Donnarumma, and Kawasaki Strikers were unable to equalize the score quickly.

St. Germain's attack slowed down in the second half, but was of higher quality and still managed to capitalize on the few chances it had to extend its lead. In the 13th minute of the second half, Mays worked with left back Zouan Barnett on the left side, who crossed for substitute Kalimundu to meet and crash home to take St. Germain's lead to 2-0.

With a two-goal lead, St. Germain then withdrew Mez and other starters and pulled closer, and Kawasaki Striker slowly regained the game's dominance, constantly attacking the visitors. In the 38th minute of the second half, Seguki took another shot at goal, but it was parried away by substitute keeper Sergio Ramos. Then, from a corner kick, Seguki crossed from the left, and substitute Kazuya Yamakawa scored with a header to make it 1-2 for the Kawasaki Strikers, but they lost by the same scoreline, and St. Germain opened their tour of Japan with a win.

●2022.7.23 Urawa Red Diamonds 0:3 Paris Saint-Germain

Three days later, Paris Saint-Germain moved to the Saitama 2002 World Cup Stadium to face Urawa Red Diamonds, another traditional powerhouse of the Japanese Professional League. The home team, Urawa Red Diamonds, has always had a hot-blooded fan base, and this home game, coupled with the attraction of the visiting team, attracted 61,175 fans to the stadium, making it an enthusiastic spectacle.

Saint-Germain's starting lineup for this game is different from the previous one, although still led by Mbappe, but Mays and Neymar were pulled out, instead Kiro Navas, Mago Waratahi, Sarabia, Morlu Icardi and other international players started this game, the strength is still not bad. Urawa Red Diamonds, on the other hand, is not worried about the absence of the main players, Nishikawa Chusaku, Sakai Hiroki, Ito Atsushi, Carlson, Sekine Guida and other main players in the starting lineup, the strength is not to be underestimated.

Less than three minutes into the game, the host Urawa Red Diamonds seized the opportunity to launch an attack on the unsettled position of the visitors, striker Yusuke Matsuo received a long pass into the penalty area, but failed to break through in the face of Keironavas, was strongly suppressed and shot wide; Urawa Red Diamonds and then Atsuki Ito's 30-yard long-distance shot, but also failed to get past Keironavas, Urawa Red Diamonds missed the opportunity to open the first record.

After experiencing one setback after another, Saint-Germain gradually stabilized their position and began to master the game, and Mbappe also repeatedly broke through the Urawa Red Diamonds' defense with his individual ability, which made the whole crowd's blood boil. In the 16th minute, Mbappe and Moro Icardi worked together in front of the field, and the latter passed to Sharabia at the top of the penalty area, and Saint-Germain gained a 1-0 advantage with their first goal from the center of the field.

Urawa Red Diamonds lost their early momentum on the pitch after conceding a goal and were completely dominated by St. Germain, although Yusuke Matsuo had a close-range chance in the box midway through the first half that was blocked by the St. Germain keeper. In the 36th minute, it was another individual performance from Mbappe, as the French international dodged past Carlson on the left before bursting into the box and firing a right-footed shot into the net from a tight angle in front of Jose Nishikawa to extend his team's lead to 2-0, and although Urawa Red Diamonds had another close-range chance from Yoshiho Koizumi late in the first half, Keironavas continued to keep his side in check to give Saint-Germain a 2-0 lead. First Half.

Urawa Red Diamonds did not give up at the start of the second half and continued to press aggressively in an effort to close the gap. Dutch shot-stopper Baek Raijen Lenschen, who dropped in for the second half, made a smooth shot on goal from a long pass from Ren Ezaka, but was once again stopped by Keiro Navas and was unable to come close to the score.

St. Germain then brought in Mace, Neymar and Sergio Ramos, but also replaced Mbappe, so the home fans didn't get to see the trident on the pitch at the same time. Despite the substitutions, St. Germain did not continue to exert too much pressure on Urawa Red Diamonds as they maintained their two-goal lead, but Kazuaki Madu again failed to capitalize on a golden opportunity at the near post in the 20th minute of the second half, with a shot that was blocked by substitute keeper Sergio Ramos.

St. Germain was much stronger, though, and even when it didn't dominate the game, it still managed to produce the occasional quality shot on goal. In the 30th minute of the second half, Mays struck from midfield with a cross from left back Nunowendis Alexandre, which was met by youngster Kalimundu in the penalty area and crashed in for his second goal of the trip to Japan, bringing St. Germain's lead to 3-0.

Despite trailing by three goals, Urawa Red Diamonds continued to look for a goal for the rest of the game, but were unable to break through the St. Germain defense. The two stars of the game, Mays and Neymar, did not slacken off towards the end of the game and continued to pose a threat to the home team's defense, but in the end, it was to no avail. The match ended with a score of 3-0, St. Germain won twice in a row on their trip to Japan, but the host team Urawa Red Diamonds was no less impressive.

●2022.7.25 Gamba Osaka 2:6 Paris Saint-Germain

Just two days later, Paris Saint-Germain once again moved to Kansai to play a friendly match against Gamba Osaka at the Municipal Suita Soccer Stadium. The hosts, Gamba Osaka, are also favored to win the match as they have a poor record in the Nippon Professional League this season, with defensive star Kwon Kyung-won absent due to his participation in the final week of the East Asian Cup with South Korea.

Saint-Germain have shown great popularity during their current trip to Japan, and this friendly against Gamba Osaka was also packed. The Ligue 1 giants replaced Mbappe with Sarabia to form an attacking triangle with Mes and Neymar, while the backline trio of Sergio Ramos, Makoun Hass and Paisano Gambeti were the mainstays of the defense. On the other hand, the host team Gamba Osaka's lineup is dominated by local players, with only Brazilian midfielder Dohan in the starting lineup, and other key players such as Ginta Miura, Aki Kurata, Musashi Suzuki, and Ritaro Gono appearing in the starting lineup.

In line with the trend of the previous two matches, Saint-Germain took the initiative immediately after the start, creating many attacks to try to threaten the goal of Gamba Osaka, with Mies, Sarabia and Neymar taking shots on goal, but all of them were deflected by Gamba Osaka's goalkeeper, Shunsho Higashiguchi. Gamba Osaka, who relied on quick counter-attacks, also launched occasional attacks to threaten Saint-Germain's goal, but again failed to get past Donnarumma.

In the 28th minute, Saint-Germain finally broke the deadlock. Although Mace's shot was blocked by Shunsho Higashiguchi, Sarabia added a second goal to break the deadlock. Less than two minutes after the goal, St. Germain got another chance to attack the goal, Neymar in the left side of the penalty area suspected to be a fake fall was awarded a penalty kick, the Brazilian international player personally manipulated the knife into the goal, St. Germain took a 2-0 lead.

Gamba Osaka didn't give up after falling behind by two goals, and only a minute later, Keisuke Kurokawa scored at the near post to make it 1-2, but as in the previous two matches, Gamba Osaka's backline problems were gradually exposed in the second half of the match, which allowed the visitors to take advantage of the situation. In the second half, 15 minutes, Neymar broke through the offside and shot into the empty net through Shunsho Higashiguchi, giving St. Germain a 5-1 victory.

Despite being down by 3 goals, Gamba Osaka did not give up and were trying to return the enthusiastic support of the home fans. In the 25th minute of the second half, substitute right back Hiromu Yanagisawa killed a ground ball pass into the penalty area, and substitute Daito Yamami completed the simplest of work in front of the goal and scored, bringing Gamba Osaka to 2-5.

Saint-Germain gradually withdrew their starters in the latter part of the game, but Mbappe, who came on 15 minutes into the second half, still didn't let Gamba Osaka's backline go, threatening the home team's goal with a number of individual breakthroughs, and finally four minutes from the end of the game, the Frenchman wrestled for a penalty in the Gamba Osaka penalty box, and Mbappe scored it himself, sealing a 6-2 victory for his team.

To summarize this trip to Japan, Paris Saint-Germain had a great performance on the pitch, scoring 11 goals in three matches, and with many stars in the lineup, I believe the local fans in Japan were quite satisfied. The three JLF teams all lost, but their performances on the field were impressive and made the matches very exciting. It was a rare opportunity to play against world-class stars, and I believe the players of all three teams benefited a lot.

This week's JLF live streaming schedule:

July 30, 1:00 p.m. Hokkaido Sapporo Gonzaga vs. Nagoya Whale Cable TV 601/661

July 30th, 6:00pm Yokohama Marinos vs Kashima Antlers Cable 601/661

July 31, 5:00 p.m. Shimizu Heartbeat vs. Tosu Sandstone Cable 601/661

July 31, 6:00 PM Urawa Red Diamonds vs Kawasaki Frontale Cable 605/665

This week's Sunday B live streaming schedule:

July 30, 5:00pm FC Yokohama vs. Iwate Morioka Senzuru Cable 602/662

July 31, 6:00 p.m. Kanazawa Sevigan vs. Akita Blue Lightning Cable 602/662