12 Japanese played in Matchday 3 of the Champions League and the Europa League: Endo and Furuhashi scored, Maeda and Doan assisted

Matchday 3 of the Champions League and the Europa League took place this week, with a total of 12 Japanese players taking part.

Champions League: Takefusa Kubo and Takehiro Tomiyasu showcased top quality

Real Sociedad visited Benfica for the Group D match, in which Takefusa Kubo started for the away side. The 22-year-old left-footed attacker kept his good form, registering the most shots of five in the game including a strike hitting the bar in the second half. Even after withdrawing in the 76 minute, Kubo was selected for the man of the match by UEFA. Sociedad edged 1-0 by Brais Méndez’s goal in Lisbon where Reo Kokubo has not been called out from Benfica’s bench on the match. Sociedad leads Group D while Benfica sit at the bottom.

In Group B, Arsenal played against Sevilla away from home and Takehiro Tomiyasu started as a left-back for the English side. Gabriel Jesus shone brilliantly, making an assist for the opener from Gabriel Martinelli and scoring a wonderful goal to make it 2-0. Though allowing Sevilla to trail back to 2-1 in the 58 minute, Arsenal defenders including Tomiyasu held the scoreline till the end. Arsenal run top of Group B.

As Feyenoord hosted Lazio in Group E, both Ayase Ueda of the former and Daichi Kamada of the latter sit on the bench at kickoff. Ueda came off the bench in the 78th minute when the home side was leading 3-0 thanks to Santiago Gimenez’s brace and Ramiz Zerrouki’s goal. The away team, who didn’t use Kamada in the match, pulled one goal back from a penalty by Pedro Rodríguez but lost 3-1. Feyenoord lead Group E while Lazio sit in third.

Another match of Group E featured three Japanese players: Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, and Daizen Maeda of Celtic, who hosted Atlético de Madrid. The home side took a lead by Furuhashi’s opener on the four minute but Hatate was injured and limped off three minutes later. After conceding an equaliser from Antoine Griezmann, Maeda’s cross found Luis Palma who netted. However, Celtic’s defense couldn’t hold the lead again, letting Álvaro Morata score a technical header to make it 2-2. If the Scottish champions have been struggling to keep the opponents off, Brendan Rodgers should think about using Tomoki Iwata, a defensive player selected for the J.League MVP award in 2022. Celtic continue to be in the bottom.

Europa League: Kaoru Mitoma and Wataru Endo contributed to the Premier League sides’ victories

Brighton and Hove Albion hosted Ajax in Group B and recorded their maiden win in Europe for more than 120 years history. In the home match against Ajax, Kaoru Mitoma started on the left wing as always. His shot was parried by Diant Ramaj after 40 minutes, and João Pedro tapped it in for the opener. Ansu Fati added for the home side and it finished 2-0. This historic win made them climb up to third in the standings.

Wataru Endo scored his first goal for Liverpool and in Europe to help the home side win 5-1 against Toulouse in Group E. 21 minutes after Diogo Jota had scored the opener, Endo met his head with a short early cross from the right by Trent Alexander-Arnold to make it 2-1. Darwin Núñez, Ryan Gravenberch, and Mohamed Salah added to finish off a 5-1 win for the home side. Liverpool keep a perfect record and lead the standings.

In Group A, Freiburg visited Bačka Topola, a Serbian town, where Ritsu Doan started as the right wing-back. Missing to touch the ball in front of the goal in the 52 mintue, Doan drew a through ball in the deep end of the right-hand side and crossed to assist Vincenzo Grifo’s hattrick. The German team won 3-1 which left them in second place with the same points as the leaders West Ham.

Elsewhere, Hidemasa Morita started for Sporting CP in the away game against Raków Częstochowa and it ended 1-1 draw. Sporting keep the second spot in Group D. Koki Machida was also in the starting lineups for Union Saint-Gilloise, who dramatically beat LASK 2-1 as they scored two goals in the last 10 minutes to complete a great comeback victory. Union SG climbed up to second in Group E with a five-point gap to the leaders Liverpool. In Group G, Servette visited Sheriff to bring back one point after it ended 1-1. Keigo Tsunemoto came off the bench of the visiting team in the 76 minute as a right back. The Swiss side sit third.