J1 Round 12 review: Tokyo put six past Mito. Seven clean sheets and counting.

Six goals, seven consecutive league CS and another reminder of how much quality there is in this squad. Nakagawa scored twice, with Anzai, Dani Gómez, Scholz and Marcelo Ryan getting the others.

The selection is worth paying attention to. Marcelo started on the bench, with Nakagawa alongside Nagakura. Nakagawa took his chance pretty convincingly, scoring twice before coming off after 64 minutes.

Marcelo still scored as a substitute, but this is why I wouldnt treat the attack as completely settled just because Tokyo are playing well.

The defenders were the lovely part.

Ishihara got 96.24, the highest score of the round. Scholz 91.14, Inamura 69.02 with 34.02 AA. Kim Seung-gyu only needed 65.3, which is the slight annoyance with picking a keeper whose team barely needs him.

Inamura is particularly worth mentioning. No attacking decisive carrying his score, just another strong AA performance. Following his 100 last round, thats encouraging.

Tokiwa also completed the game and got 71.4. Another name to keep watching as Tokyo manage the midfield.

Mito meanwhile have now lost six league games in a row. I liked their opening weeks, but this is a very different team atm. Five conceded after half-time here.

Tokyo look like one of the best teams to use on Sorare. The main question is which attacking players actually start.

Gonda got 93.2. Tani 93. Two of the three highest scores of the round from the same goalless draw.

Sakai was the other standout for me: 78.78 with 43.78 AA. Thats a huge contribution without needing a goal or assist.

Machida's wingbacks also produced useful scores. Mochizuki got 68.44 with 33.44 AA, Ouwejan 64 with 29 AA. Akimoto added 65.8 with 30.8 AA.

Quite a nice demonstration of where the points can come from when neither attack delivers.

Nishimura started after his hat-trick against Shimizu, but finished on 28.3 in 70 minutes. Ogawa played the full game for 37.5, Soma got 43.7.

A little less exciting than Wednesday.

Okamura only played the first half, with Kim Min-tae replacing him. That needs context before calling it either an injury or a change in the defensive hierarchy.

Machida keep another CS and remain very difficult to beat. For Kobe, Gonda starting again is useful confirmation of the current choice, although id still keep the wider goalkeeper situation in mind.

Tokuda put Kashima ahead, but Endo equalised and Yamauchi scored twice to turn it around. Cavric's late goal wasnt enough.

Yamauchi got 75.5 from 60 minutes. Endo 71.1, also from 60.

Neither needed a full match to do the damage.

Kakita played the first half, Hosoya the second. Kubo recorded 39 minutes, Segawa 30. There are plenty of useful players here, but the minutes are being shared around quite a lot.

Nagai continued in goal. Unfortunately, 37.7 rather than another CS score.

For Kashima, Tokuda starting and scoring matters while Ceará's fitness has been a concern. He got 69.3 from 45 minutes, with Cavric getting 60.7 from the other half.

Elber added 65.9 from the bench. More attacking contributions, still awkward starting security.

Yuma got 61.7 with 26.7 AA, which I quite like in a defeat. Hayakawa's 9.5 was rather less enjoyable.

Kashima have attacking options making a case for themselves. They also conceded three at home. Id be more interested in sorting out the balance of the team than getting carried away by whichever forward scored.

Hiroshima lose 4-0 at Nagasaki, then put four past Shimizu three days later. Matsumoto, Asano and Akito Suzuki scored before an own goal completed it.

Asano is the interesting one again. He recorded 45 minutes and got 71.7. The goal is encouraging, but the minutes still matter if youre trying to use him regularly.

Matsumoto led Hiroshima on 89.1, with Suga getting 80.

The AA underneath was arguably more interesting.

Araki got 78.62 with 43.62 AA. Kawabe 77.6 with 42.6 AA. Kim Ju-sung 70.1 with 35.1 AA.

Thats the sort of output that makes Hiroshima so attractive when they control a match. Plenty of routes to points across the team.

Higashi only played 20 minutes and finished on 32.5. A useful reminder that being a player I like doesnt make someone immune to the bench.

Shimizu have now followed the 5-0 defeat against Machida with a 4-0 defeat here. Nine conceded in two games, none scored.

I wouldnt overcomplicate that one. A team to be cautious with until we see a proper response.

Their first league win of the season, and a particularly useful one against another struggling side.

Kumatoriya scored, Teranuma added the late third and Mizoguchi had a huge Sorare game: 88.46, ninth highest of the round.

Kumatoriya got 71.8 from 66 minutes. Matsuhashi 67.6 from 24, while Teranuma finished on 61.6 from just two recorded minutes.

Lovely if you happened to have him involved. Not exactly a role you can build your next lineup around.

Morita got another 23 minutes and produced 54.4 with 19.4 AA. I like seeing him contribute again, but thats still substitute usage.

The strangest score was on the losing side.

Teppei Oka got 88.36 with 53.36 AA despite Fukuoka conceding three. No decisive carrying it either. Thats a ridiculous AA performance.

Werik also got 69.7 from 45 minutes, which is encouraging as his involvement increases.

Verdy badly needed this. Id still be selective rather than suddenly trusting the whole team, especially with Matheus finishing on just 24.8 despite the win.

Ichimori was sent off early in the second half. Higashiguchi came on, Jebali put Gamba ahead, then Takumi Kato equalised in stoppage time.

The goalkeeper situation has become relevant again for a fairly obvious reason. Ichimori's red card creates an immediate disciplinary issue, with Higashiguchi the keeper who replaced him here.

Ichimori finished on 11.2. Not the sort of volatility you want from that position.

Usami scored again and got 78.4 in 66 minutes. After his goal against Fukuoka, thats another encouraging contribution.

Jebali got 66.1, while Yamashita's 63.7 with 28.7 AA is worth mentioning too. He didnt need a goal to give you a useful score.

For Kyoto, Kato got 67.6 from 45 minutes. Arai followed his two goals against Kashima with 61.7 here.

Elias also returned for 21 minutes, while Tulio got 15. Good to have both involved, although neither is back to the sort of minutes id automatically trust.

Gamba's attack is at least giving us more now. The goalkeeper red and late equaliser make it difficult to call this a comfortable step forward.

Croux put Marinos ahead, with Yamagishi equalising in the second half.

Suwama got 89.52, sixth highest of the round. Quiñónes added 75.52, so the Marinos CBs did considerably better than simply looking at the result might suggest.

Matsumura also got 59.8 with 24.8 AA. Useful contribution without a decisive.

Iikura continued in goal and finished on 52.7. Another start in his favour.

For Nagoya, Takamine was comfortably the standout on 79.6. Yamagishi got 60 despite scoring, with negative AA limiting the return.

Inagaki finished on 46.8, Morishima 35.6 from 45 minutes.

Thats the distinction I care about here. Familiar names and attacking positions dont automatically mean the best Sorare returns.

Nagoya's minutes were also quite spread across the defensive options. Nogami and Yota Sato each recorded 45 minutes, so id keep looking at the actual roles rather than assuming the back line has completely settled.

Win the game, keep a CS and avoid turning it into another five-goal event.

Savio scored the winner from Gustafson's pass. Savio got 68.5, but Gustafson was comfortably the standout on 89.2 with 29.2 AA.

The defensive AA was encouraging too.

Miyamoto 65.7 with 30.7 AA, Seko 65.4 with 30.4 AA, Nemoto 65.1 with 30.1 AA.

Three very similar returns, all without needing an attacking decisive. Nishikawa added 64.9.

Onaiwu recorded 64 minutes, with Komori getting 26. Sasa also got 26, so his recent goals still havent turned into guaranteed starting minutes.

Nagasaki went from putting four past Hiroshima to failing to score here. Matheus Jesus finished on 19.5 after his huge midweek performance.

Thats quite a swing.

Egawa still managed 64.96 with 29.96 AA, which deserves a mention in a fairly disappointing set of attacking scores.

For Urawa, I like this more than another chaotic win. There is enough attacking quality already. Making the defensive side more reliable is what would really improve their Sorare appeal.

They drew.

Solomon scored in the 96th minute, Yokoyama in the 98th. A fairly horrible way to miss out on a much-needed win.

Himeno had put Chiba ahead before Erison made it 2-0 shortly after half-time. Erison got 79.8, Himeno 63.9.

For Cerezo, Solomon finished on 71.4 from 45 minutes. Yokoyama 67.4 from 23.

Sabbag played the full game and got 30.5. Lucas 20 from 74 minutes.

Thats a pretty awkward contrast between the starters and the players who rescued the result.

The biggest score was Rikito Inoue's 92.62 with 32.62 AA, fourth highest of the round. Quite a return from a defender in a team that conceded twice.

Irvine completed the match and got 56.4 with 21.4 AA, while Ohata also played the full game.

Cerezo have useful players coming back and attacking alternatives contributing. They are also seven league games without a win. The late comeback shouldnt completely hide that.

Chiba are six without a win themselves. This one will hurt considerably more than an ordinary away draw.

Lacerda scored early, Marcinho added the second and Oberdan pulled one back for Okayama.

Marcinho got 79.6, Ito 64.6 and Lacerda 60.

The defensive AA was good too. Uremović finished on 72.42 with 37.42 AA, Miura 62.44 with 27.44 AA.

Wakizaka completed the match but only got 40.3. Yamamoto 23.9 from 82 minutes. Again, starting in a winning team doesnt guarantee much on its own.

Pedro Romano also completed 90 minutes after the concussion-substitution concern in the previous round. Thats actual match involvement rather than us guessing from a training photo.

For Okayama, Oberdan's goal helped him to 83.2, comfortably their best score.

Tatsuta followed his excellent midweek AA with 22.74 AA for 57.74 here. Not another massive return, but still something useful in defeat.

Esaka played the full game for 48.7, while Lukao got 28.3 from 72 minutes. Quite a different outcome from the Mito win.

Kawasaki are getting useful contributions from several attacking players now. Working out which combination Hasebe starts remains the slightly annoying part.