Yasuhito Endo continues to lead the way

The second-leg of the AFC Champions League semi-finals between Gamba Osaka and the Urawa Red Diamonds was marked with great performances of our Nippon Daihyo but none more spectacular than Yasuhito Endo who led Gamba to the 3-1 victory.

The Red Diamonds started fast on the attack with Nobuhisa Yamada nearly giving them the lead eighteen minutes into the match but in a theme that would be repeated, they lacked the final finishing touch. Moments later Marcus Tulio Tanaka nearly created the first goal with Edmilson pushing the ball wide. The attack continued with Naohiro Takahara’s drive blocked by Gamba defender Sota Nakazawa. On the ensuing corner Gamba ‘keeper Yosuke Fujigaya was called upon to save Yuki Abe stunning overhead kick. With pressure constant but without fruition, Urawa finally broke through with Naohiro Takahara goal at the thirty-six minute mark. He nearly doubled the advantage two minutes before the break with a drive from outside the area but it clanged off the crossbar and after numerous chances, Urawa went to the half with a slim one goal margin.

Six minutes after the break Yasuhito Endo, Gamba’s lone member of Takeshi Okada’s most recent Blue Samurai squad, took control of the match as his perfectly placed corner was headed into the net by Satoshi Yamaguchi. With twenty-seven minutes remaining Yasuhito continued to dominate as his corner was once again redirected into the net, this time by Tomokazu Myojin. To complete Yasuhito’s perfect day, three minutes later he added the third goal himself, driving a ball to the back of the net from the left penalty area.

This catapults Gamba into the final against Adelaide United of the A-League in the finals of the AFC Champions League. Please join me for full coverage on J-League section of The Offside.