Although the Osaka Derby was played on the opposing team's home ground with a minimal margin of victory of 1-0, Gamba displayed the intensity and fighting spirit that they are known for, and managed to shake off the bad streak that followed their loss to Kyoto.
Gamba is aiming to make a comeback in the league, which is why the 3rd Leg of the EMPEROR'S CUP will be so important.
"We're on a good run after winning the derby, so we want to win the EMPEROR'S CUP," said Suzuki, expressing a sentiment shared by the entire team.

In the 3rd Leg of the EMPEROR'S CUP , which will be held after a 10-day interval, Gamba will face Yamagata, a team they also faced in the 2014 EMPEROR'S CUP final.
Although Gamba fell behind to JFL team Viatin Mie in the 2nd Leg, they managed to pull off their first comeback victory of the season, but the manager knows firsthand that there are no easy games in the EMPEROR'S CUP.
"It will be a very tough battle. The EMPEROR'S CUP is fair for all teams and it's a one-off match. That's the beauty of it, but we have to treat each game like it's the final,"Head Coach Poyatos.
Gamba will face Kawasaki F in the first game after the league resumes in four days, but they will need to win again with the full force of their team.

The direction reaffirmed in the derby is the importance of maintaining high intensity and compactness. Yamashita, who turns on the switch and leads the team on both offense and defense, said, "There may be an away atmosphere, but we will show high-intensity Gamba football, score first, and win with aggressive football."

Yamagata, currently 16th in J2, terminated the contract with former Head Coach Watanabe on June 16th, and on the 25th, Yokouchi, who served as the coach of the Japanese national team at the Qatar World Cup, was appointed as the new Head Coach. The team is beginning to see results in rebuilding its defense.
In the last match of the J2 League, Yamagata lost 0-1 to Chiba, who are in the promotion battle, but "I think they are adjusting their play to be less risky by using combinations and not passing the ball around too much,"Head Coach Poyatos, talking about the changes in Yamagata. The J2 is in a three-week interval, and Yamagata has no games on the weekend, but since they used their main players from the league to win the 2nd Leg of the EMPEROR'S CUP against J3 Kagoshima 2-1, they should come to win against Gamba as well.

The player they need to be most wary of is Akira Silvano DISARO'(Akira Silvano DISARO'), who is the team's top scorer with 8 goals in the league, but Doi, who has a proven track record at Kashima, also has 2 assists. And defensive midfielder Konishi, who grew up in GAMBA OSAKA's academy and has played for GAMBA OSAKA U-23, is a good defensive midfielder who was trained by Head Coach Poyatos during his time at Tokushima. Head Coach Poyatos is also wary of Konishi, who he says is "a player who will surprise you when he gets the ball," but if Konishi is on the pitch, he will be one of the points Gamba needs to shut down.

Handa, who grew up in Yamagata, will be facing his former club for the first time, but he intends to show off "Gamba's Handa" to his hometown and former club, saying, "We have to win, and the EMPEROR'S CUP is that kind of tournament. If we can win by focusing only on the result, I'll be able to repay the people who've helped me."
Gamba once again won against the team that helped them achieve the historic feat of winning the treble immediately after promotion, a feat that will go down in Japanese football history.