While the showdown between Dortmund and Schalke gained most fans' attention, several other Japanese players in Europe also put in memorable performances for their clubs
In Germany‚ Shinji Kagawa's Borussia Dortmund looks like retaining the title after a 2-1 win in the derby over the fierce rivals Schalke on Saturday‚ following a 1-0 over Bayern Munich during the week. With only three matches to be played‚ Jurgen Klopp's men now have a virtually uncatchable eight-point advantage over second-placed Bayern.
Kagawa didn't have the impact of his first Revierderby in September 2010 when his brace earned him hero status with the fans‚ but kept the opponents' defence busy‚ covering the most kilometres out of all players. The 23-year-old was unlucky to have deflected Jefferson Farfan's shot for Schalke's opener in the ninth minute‚ but was fortunate when his header found the way to Lukasz Piszczek who leveled the score in the 17th minute.
The Knappen started with Atsuto Uchida at the right-back position who worked well defensively‚ giving Kevin Grosskreutz not too much space. The 24-year-old recorded the most ball touches in his team and had a few nice runs on the right flank‚ but looked tired before he was subbed off with five minutes to go.
In an Eredivisie showdown against fellow Japanese players Maya Yoshida and Robert Cullen at VVV Venlo‚ Yoshiaki Takagi's Utrecht came out on top with a spectacular come-from-behind 4-2 victory.
Takagi himself was involved in all four goals; his free kick led to Utrecht's first‚ followed by a corner kick that brought the hosts even at 2-2.
The 19-year-old then proceeded to set up the game-winning goal with a clever through-pass to Frank Demouge just before the hour mark‚ before assisting Utrecht's fourth goal in the 83rd minute. Takagi has been slow in establishing himself at the club since transferring from Tokyo Verdy‚ but will easily keep a starting role if he can continue with similar performances.
In Germany‚ Shinji Kagawa's Borussia Dortmund looks like retaining the title after a 2-1 win in the derby over the fierce rivals Schalke on Saturday‚ following a 1-0 over Bayern Munich during the week. With only three matches to be played‚ Jurgen Klopp's men now have a virtually uncatchable eight-point advantage over second-placed Bayern.
Kagawa didn't have the impact of his first Revierderby in September 2010 when his brace earned him hero status with the fans‚ but kept the opponents' defence busy‚ covering the most kilometres out of all players. The 23-year-old was unlucky to have deflected Jefferson Farfan's shot for Schalke's opener in the ninth minute‚ but was fortunate when his header found the way to Lukasz Piszczek who leveled the score in the 17th minute.
The Knappen started with Atsuto Uchida at the right-back position who worked well defensively‚ giving Kevin Grosskreutz not too much space. The 24-year-old recorded the most ball touches in his team and had a few nice runs on the right flank‚ but looked tired before he was subbed off with five minutes to go.
In an Eredivisie showdown against fellow Japanese players Maya Yoshida and Robert Cullen at VVV Venlo‚ Yoshiaki Takagi's Utrecht came out on top with a spectacular come-from-behind 4-2 victory.
Takagi himself was involved in all four goals; his free kick led to Utrecht's first‚ followed by a corner kick that brought the hosts even at 2-2.
The 19-year-old then proceeded to set up the game-winning goal with a clever through-pass to Frank Demouge just before the hour mark‚ before assisting Utrecht's fourth goal in the 83rd minute. Takagi has been slow in establishing himself at the club since transferring from Tokyo Verdy‚ but will easily keep a starting role if he can continue with similar performances.
0 comments:
Post a Comment