J1 Round 13 review: Tokyo go top. Hiroshima AA goes a bit ridiculous.

Another four goals. Another CS. Top of the league. After the opening-day hammering at Machida, Tokyo have now gone twelve league matches unbeaten. I liked this squad before the season, but I didnt expect the defending to become this good.

Nakagawa scored either side of half-time, then Dani Gómez replaced him and scored twice himself. Thats four goals in two league games for Nakagawa. Quite a response to being given the starting role.

Nakagawa got 81.4 from 59 minutes, Gómez 75.8 from 31. Nagakura completed the game for 55.4 with 20.4 AA. For me, thats the useful distinction in this attack. Nakagawa is doing the damage, Gómez is contributing off the bench and Nagakura is still getting the full match.

Eight consecutive league clean sheets is now the second-longest run in J1 history, behind Nagoya's nine in 2021. The highest Tokyo score here came from Shuto Nagano: 93.16 with 33.16 AA. Kim Seung-gyu got 73, Scholz 63.3 with 28.3 AA and Inamura 59.66 with 24.66 AA.

So even a comfortable 4-0 doesnt mean every defender hits 90. Still v useful AA from the regular CBs, though. I personally remain much more comfortable using this defence than trying to guess which forward gets the decisives.

Okayama made a proper goalkeeper change. Hamada started, with Moser on the bench. Hamada finished on 19. A rough afternoon to come into the side, but the selection matters regardless of the result.

Yoshitake Suzuki still got 60.92 with 25.92 AA in a four-goal defeat. Tatsuta produced 23.6 AA, but his DS of five left him on 28.6 overall. Quite a difference between useful underlying work and an actually useful Sorare score.

Hiroshima have followed the 4-0 defeat at Nagasaki with a 4-0 win and now a 3-0 win. Thats a fairly convincing league response, even allowing for the opposition.

Mito were down to ten before Hiroshima scored. Mase was sent off after 21 minutes, then Akito Suzuki, Nakano and Suga got the goals. The red is important context. Hiroshima had a lot of the game against a team who were already struggling badly.

Nakano finished on 100 with 54.46 AA. Goal, assist and an enormous amount of AA. Kim Ju-sung got 92.08 with 57.08 AA, without needing an attacking decisive. Araki added 81.7 with 46.7 AA, Kawabe 79.3 with 44.3 AA.

Four players above 44 AA in the same team. Lovely if you had them. Pretty grim if you were playing against them.

Naoto Arai also got 92.96, while Akito Suzuki completed the match for 70.9. The attacking minutes were more mixed. Shimon Kobayashi started and got the first half, Kusini Yengi the second. Yengi assisted Suga and finished on 70.1, while Asano only recorded 25 minutes for 43.

Thats why I still prefer the defensive and midfield options here. Hiroshima can produce huge scores across the pitch, but the forward who happens to score well isnt necessarily the easiest one to use next time.

For Mito, seven league defeats in a row now. Naoki Mori is back in charge, but an early red and another heavy defeat give him very little to build on. Kimoto also came off after six minutes. The match record gives us the withdrawal, not a diagnosis.

Last round Elias got 21 minutes and Tulio 15. This time both started, Elias scored twice before half-time and Kyoto kept their first league CS of the season. That changes the picture quite a bit.

Elias got 85 from 77 minutes, Tulio 68.9 from 53. Two important attacking players back in the XI and actually making a difference. I feel considerably better about Kyoto's attack with those two involved.

The biggest Sorare score was still Appiah Tawiah: 87.72 with 52.72 AA. No attacking decisive needed. Arai also completed the game for 60.3 with 25.3 AA.

Halls got 60, so the CS didnt turn into a huge keeper score. For me, Elias getting proper starting minutes is the more useful development than suddenly deciding Kyoto are a defensive stack.

Shimizu have now lost 5-0, 4-0 and 2-0 in consecutive league games. Eleven conceded, none scored. Matsuzaki returned to the XI but got 24.6 from 58 minutes, while Germain finished on 39.7 and Oh Se-hun 34.2.

Nobody in the team reached 50. I liked their improvement a few weeks ago, but theres very little id want to use atm.

After throwing away points at Kyoto and losing at home to Kashiwa, Kashima needed something more convincing. Elber scored twice, Bueno added the third and Cavric came off the bench to make it four. Sabbag's goal briefly brought Cerezo back into it, but Kashima pulled away again.

Elber got 79.3 from 58 minutes. Bueno 80.9, Matsumura 72.5 and Cavric 65.9 from 32. Plenty of attacking contributions, and another useful reminder that there are routes to points beyond simply owning Ceará.

Yuma was actually their highest scorer on 84.6, with a DS of 70. I like his ability to influence games even when someone else is finishing the moves.

Ceará was back in the starting XI and played 73 minutes, but only got 32.1. His return is good news for availability. It didnt make him the right Sorare forward this week.

The defence was much less exciting. Hayakawa 42.9, Ueda 37.12, Sekigawa 34.28. A 4-1 win can still leave your defensive stack doing very little.

For Cerezo, Shunta Tanaka managed 80.4, Lucas 70.9 and Sabbag 66.3. Those are useful scores in a bad defeat, but Nakamura's 1.1 tells the other side of it. Cerezo have now gone eight league matches without a win. The late rescue against Chiba last week didnt fix the wider problems.

Nagoya scored after two minutes through Nagai, but Kobe came back through Muto, Erik and a late Komatsu goal. A useful win after taking one point from the previous two league games.

Muto got 86.3 from 89 minutes, comfortably Kobe's best score. Erik finished on 61.2, while Osako played 89 minutes for 40.7. Its Muto's contribution id be taking most from this one.

Komatsu got 66.1 from one recorded Sorare minute. He came on in stoppage time and scored. Lovely bonus if you had him available, but thats obviously very different from having a starting striker you can plan around.

Gonda started again and got 36.6. The outfield defenders didnt have a particularly productive afternoon either. Sakai led them on 52.22, a fair way down from his huge AA game against Machida.

For Nagoya, Nagai got 62.4 from 63 minutes and Uchida 68.4. Fujii completed the match, which is useful after the recent availability questions, although 38.06 wasnt much of a return.

Inagaki only got 39.8, with Morishima getting the final 12 minutes for 33.1. Nagoya's recent results had improved, but I still find them a difficult team to trust across a full Sorare lineup.

Last week I liked Urawa keeping the Nagasaki game under control. This week they conceded four. That optimism lasted well.

Koizumi opened the scoring against his former club, Yuba made it two, then Kubo and Harada added late goals. Miyamoto was sent off with Urawa already 2-0 down. The red helped Kashiwa finish them off, but Urawa were losing the game before it.

Koizumi got 98.5, the highest attacking score in the export. His AA was 18.5, so a lot of the return came through the decisives. Still an excellent full-match contribution.

Nagai continued in goal for 72.5. Sugioka's 65.06 with 30.06 AA also interests me, while Yuba got 64.5 and Harada 60.66.

Kubo scored and got 64.6, but only recorded 45 minutes after coming on at half-time. Kakita and Hosoya also split the game, finishing on 29.6 and 39.6. Kashiwa are playing well, but that doesnt make the attacking minutes any less awkward.

For Urawa, Seko still produced 25.5 AA, yet his DS of 15 left him on 40.5. Miyamoto had 21.74 AA but finished on 36.74. Useful examples of why id look at the actual total as well as the AA.

Nishikawa got 28.7, Savio 47.6 and Kaneko 49. Urawa have enough individual quality to keep interesting me. Twenty-seven conceded in thirteen league games is still pretty grim, though.

Four consecutive league draws before this, including the game they threw away against Verdy. This time they kept enough of the lead to beat Kawasaki.

Tono and Kondo put them two ahead. Uremović pulled one back, but Tanimura restored the gap before half-time and Quiñónes added the fourth. Ozeki's late goal made the scoreline a bit kinder for Kawasaki.

Kondo was the interesting selection story. Croux started but went off injured after eight minutes, Kondo replaced him and finished on 81.4. Thats a very good contribution from a substitute who effectively got a full game.

Riku Yamane added 78.3, Tono 73.8, Tanimura 68.5. Kosuke Matsumura got 62.1 and took the corner for Quiñónes' goal. Set-piece involvement and 90 minutes are both useful things to know.

Quiñónes still only finished on 60, with -5.52 AA despite scoring. Iikura got 34.5. Another game where the attacking returns were considerably better than the defensive ones.

Kawasaki started Brodersen. Ozeki led their scores on 69.4 from 26 minutes, Wakizaka got 64.6, but Ito 38.9, Marcinho 30.1 and Lacerda 30.8 didnt give you much.

The three-game league winning run ends. I still like the attacking options, but this was a fairly big reminder of the problems at the other end.

After the ridiculous finish at Cerezo, this was badly needed. Himeno scored again, Mae added the second and Goya made it three in stoppage time. Chiba's second league win, and enough to move them above Mito and Fukuoka.

Mae got 80.72 with 20.72 AA, Suárez 75.6. A useful score from the goalkeeper as well as the goalscorers.

Himeno finished on 60, despite scoring. Kazuki Tanaka's 64.5 with 29.5 AA and Nduka's 60.48 with 25.48 AA are probably the numbers I like more. Quite a lot of useful work underneath the result.

Goya got 68.5 from eight recorded minutes, while Erison played 89 for 30.8. Thats the annoying part if youre trying to turn the scoreline into a forward pick. The starting striker didnt get the points, the late substitute did.

Fukuoka had nobody above Miki's 52.3. Werik completed the game for 49.8, which is useful minutes, but still no decisive.

Oka went from 53.36 AA against Verdy to -12.32 AA here, finishing on 22.68. Quite a brutal change in one week. That previous performance was worth noticing, but certainly wasnt a reason to ignore the team around him.

Fukuoka are bottom on seven points. I thought they could be more competitive than this. Atm its difficult to make much of a Sorare case outside individual punts.

No wins in the opening eleven league games. Two in the next two. Six points changes the situation at the bottom pretty quickly.

Someno returned to the XI and scored in first-half stoppage time. Thiago Santana equalised, but Ichimi restored Verdy's lead five minutes later. I like that response. After the start they have had, it would have been very easy to let another game drift away.

Mizoguchi got 89.22 with 29.22 AA, following 88.46 against Fukuoka. Thats consecutive huge returns, and definitely one of the players id be paying more attention to now.

Someno finished on 70.3 from 72 minutes, Ichimi 69.4 from 83, Fujimoto 63.7. Proper starting contributions rather than relying on another stoppage-time substitute goal.

Morita recorded 46 minutes for 41.6, but theres important context. He came on for Kosuke Saito in an official concussion substitution late in the first half. His involvement increased because of that incident. It wasnt simply a planned step towards starting.

For Nagasaki, Santana got 64 from 24 minutes. Hasegawa's 60.7 with 25.7 AA and Emerson's 60.5 with 25.5 AA were the more useful underlying scores.

Matheus Jesus completed the game for 35.3. Since that huge performance against Hiroshima, the league returns have been much less exciting. I still like the ceiling, but Nagasaki arent making it easy to trust them week to week.

Machida have now drawn consecutive league games 0-0. Five straight league CS, but two points from six when Tokyo and Hiroshima are winning isnt enough to stay top.

The schedule deserves some context. Machida were back from Thursday's ACL Two game in Shanghai, with only two clear days before this one. Thats a difficult turnaround. It doesnt make the dropped points irrelevant, but its part of the performance rather than just a name on a fixture list.

Kim Min-tae came into the XI for Okamura and got 100 with 42 AA. Ouwejan finished on 95.78 with 35.78 AA, Tani 87.1. Three of the ten highest scores in the export from a team who didnt score.

Higashiguchi started for Gamba with Ichimori suspended and got 84.5. Hatsuse also did very well: 72.24 with 37.24 AA. Thats the outfield Gamba score I like most.

The forwards were rather less exciting. Ogawa played 90 minutes for 42.3, Nishimura 76 for 41.6, Soma 89 for 52. The minutes were there. The attacking returns werent.

Usami got 56.3 with 21.3 AA from 80 minutes, Jebali 43.9 from the full game. Welton only got 41 minutes before going off injured, with Japanese reporting describing him holding the back of his left thigh. No diagnosis or return date yet.

Gamba are now four league games unbeaten, although three were draws. This is a useful point and CS. Welton's fitness is the less welcome part, just as the attack had started looking a bit more settled.