Head Coach Katanozaka: "We had the opening match of the Levain Cup at home, and the Osaka Derby was a game we couldn't lose. We were able to have the opening match of the league and the Levain Cup at home, but unfortunately we lost two games in a row, which is really frustrating. In this situation, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, so many people came (to the stadium) and cheered us on, giving us strength, but it's very disappointing that we lost and couldn't celebrate together. It's my responsibility, and I'm really sorry that I couldn't help them win. Cerezo made it to the final of the Levain Cup last season, and Head Coach Kogiku has put in solid tactics and built a good team, but our goal was to take on a new challenge, win at home, and get three points, but in terms of both the content and the results, we still have a lot of work to do, and we need to get back to a really strong Gamba in the future, and I felt that in today's game and the opening match of the league. Today, we had the Levain Cup three days after the league game, so we made some changes in the members and were able to try out many players in official matches. Normally, we would have had perfect players, but with many players who were playing without any preparation, we managed to bounce back in the second half and tie the score after conceding two goals in the first half, but I think the last third goal was a waste. Right now, what we need is points and a win, so our next game is an away game against Urawa, two days after the break. I think this league game against Urawa will be a very tough game, but we will switch gears and prepare well so that we can bring a good result back to Osaka.

Q: Head Coach Katanozaka has also spoken about the issues, and it was the same in the match against Kashima, but it seemed like they were targeting the sides of the CB and the defensive midfielders, but with this busy schedule, is it the only way to make corrections as you play the games?
Head Coach, "Honestly, we only had a week to prepare, and we had consecutive matches, so we really had to do some in-depth training, and I think the only way to really improve the precision of our football is to actually build it up through official matches like this. I think that's the same for all teams, but in these two opening matches of the league and the Levain Cup, we were able to get a lot of players on the pitch, and we had to feel the pressure the players felt, how well they were doing, and how well they were able to play under pressure. We still need to improve our condition and tactics, and I think it will be difficult to get three points, so we have no choice but to do that through actual matches."

Q: "You had a lot of trouble with your build-up in the first half of the game, but I think you improved in the second half. What specific adjustments did you make?"
Head Coach Katanozaka: "As you just said, when the defensive midfielders are targeted or coming from the front, I think it's important for us to share how we hold the ball and create chances. It's not just the ball holder, but the surrounding players also need to take the correct position depending on the situation, and when the opponent is targeting us, we need to avoid falling into their trap. The players understood what I wanted to say and the tactics and tried to do it, and in the second half we pushed back and made moves in the opponent's half, so I think we're starting to see a little bit of what we want to do."

Q: Nakamura, who started today, played as a wingback in the first half, but was switched to the side midway through. In the second half he played as a shadow player. What was your intention in using him in each position, and what is your evaluation of him?
Head Coach Katanozaka: "I think the best position for (Nakamura) Jiro is the shadow position. However, he is left-footed, so I thought that if he could take a wing-half position and play forward, his strengths would come out, so I challenged him. Of course, he wasn't involved in conceding goals, and I don't think there were many scenes where he was able to show his strengths, but I thought that it was an experience for Jiro and that it would be difficult for me to do it. In the first half, we switched from right to left because he couldn't advance on the right and he was under a bit of pressure, so I thought that if we did the opposite, Jiro's strengths would come out more smoothly, so we switched him. Also, in the second half, we put in Ko YANAGISAWA and moved him to shadow, which is his specialty, and from there he was able to show his true colors and challenge himself, and he cut in and sent good balls to (Fukuda) Yuya, and I think he contributed to the team, and even though he looked a little tired, he ran all the way to the end. In the future, I want him to take on new challenges based on this experience and become a player who can help the team win, and I want him to use the issues that came up in this 90 minutes of play to his advantage in the next game.

Q: "You kept Nakamura on for the entire 90 minutes and replaced Yamami midway through the game. I think this was partly because you had the Urawa match in mind, but did you want Nakamura to experience playing a game like this for 90 minutes?"
Head Coach Katanozaka: "It wasn't really because we had the Urawa match. Jiro was playing well when he was in the shadow position, so I wanted to lead him because he was playing well, and see how much he would challenge in the 90 minutes, so that's why I made that substitution."

Q: In terms of the positive aspects of the game compared to the Kashima match, Fukuoka's inclusion in the build-up allowed the team to make solid challenges, move the ball forward, and move up the field, so I think his performance was a positive one. What is your assessment of this?
Head Coach Katanozaka: "(Fukuoka) Shota played to the left of the three defenders, and he put his body on the line to defend well. I could see that he has a lot to see in the build-up, and that he has a lot to offer. And as a DF you have to be able to defend, I think it was great that he was able to persevere defensively for the full 90 minutes. I hope that he will prepare himself as a valuable player in future league matches, and show his strengths no matter what position he plays."