2021 Gamba Osaka season

The 2021 Gamba Osaka season was the club's 41st season in existence and the eighth consecutive season in the top flight of Japanese football. In addition to the domestic league, Gamba Osaka participated in the Emperor's Cup, the J.League Cup, the AFC Champions League and the Japanese Super Cup.

Gamba Osaka

2021 season
Chairman	Takashi Yamauchi
Head coach	Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (until 14 May)[1] Masanobu Matsunami (from 15 May)
Stadium	Panasonic Stadium Suita
J1 League	13th
Emperor's Cup	Quarter-finals
J.League Cup	Quarter-finals
Japanese Super Cup	Runner-up
Top goalscorer	League: Patric (13 goals) All: Patric (23 goals)
Highest home attendance	16,699 v Shonan Bellmare 4 December 2021 (J1 League)
Lowest home attendance	2,874 v Shonan Bellmare 22 September 2021 (Emperor's Cup)
Average home league attendance	7,255[2]
Biggest win	8–1 v Tampines Rovers 7 July 2021 (AFC Champions League)
Biggest defeat	0–4 v Cerezo Osaka 5 September 2021 (J.League Cup) 1–5 v Consadole Sapporo 2 October 2021 (J1 League)
Home colours Away colours
← 2020 2022 →

Background

After finishing runners-up in both the league and the Emperor's Cup in 2020, Gamba Osaka started the season competing in the Japanese Super Cup but narrowly lost to stoppage time winning goal. Their league campaign was then heavily disrupted by an outbreak of COVID-19 in the squad. After losing their first league game of the season on 27 February, they did not play another game until 4 April.^[3] They started the league campaign extremely poorly, winning only one of their first ten games and only scoring three goals in the process. This run led to the dismissal of manager Tsuneyasu Miyamoto following their 2–1 home defeat to Sanfrecce Hiroshima.^[1] Head of the academy Masanobu Matsunami took over on an interim basis, until in June it was announced he would be taking over the managerial role for the remainder of the season.^[4] In spite of being in the relegation places for the first half of the season and being one of the league's lowest scorers, Gamba managed to string some results together in the second half of the season and finished in 13th place, eight points clear of relegation.^[5]

Gamba did fare slightly better in the cup competitions, reaching the quarter-finals of the Emperor's Cup before a home defeat to Urawa Red Diamonds. They also reached the quarter-finals of the J.League Cup, but this was the round they entered the competition at due to their commitments in the AFC Champions League.

Competing in the continental competition for the first time since 2017, Gamba went out at the group stage despite only losing one game out of their six matches. This included an 8–1 victory over Singapore's Tampines Rovers.

Patric was the stand-out performer for Gamba throughout the season, scoring 23 goals in all competitions, 38% of all goals that they scored. He finished joint 5th in the overall league scoring charts.^[6]

Players

Season squad

Squad no.	Name	Nationality	Date of birth (age at start of season)
Goalkeepers
1	Masaaki Higashiguchi		(1986-05-12)12 May 1986 (aged 34)
22	Jun Ichimori		(1991-07-02)2 July 1991 (aged 29)
23	Mizuki Hayashi		(1996-09-04)4 September 1996 (aged 24)
25	Kei Ishikawa		(1992-09-30)30 September 1992 (aged 28)
31	Taichi Kato		(1997-04-14)14 April 1997 (aged 23)
Defenders
3	Gen Shoji		(1992-12-11)11 December 1992 (aged 28)
4	Hiroki Fujiharu		(1988-11-24)24 November 1988 (aged 32)
5	Genta Miura		(1995-03-01)1 March 1995 (aged 25)
13	Shunya Suganuma		(1990-05-17)17 May 1990 (aged 30)
16	Yota Sato		(1998-09-10)10 September 1998 (aged 22)
19	Kim Young-gwon		(1990-02-27)27 February 1990 (aged 31)
24	Keisuke Kurokawa		(1997-04-13)13 April 1997 (aged 23)
26	Ko Yanagisawa		(1996-06-28)28 June 1996 (aged 24)
27	Ryu Takao		(1996-11-09)9 November 1996 (aged 24)
40	Shin Won-ho		(2001-05-19)19 May 2001 (aged 19)
Midfielders
6	Ju Se-jong		(1990-10-30)30 October 1990 (aged 30)
8	Kosuke Onose		(1993-04-22)22 April 1993 (aged 27)
10	Shu Kurata		(1988-11-26)26 November 1988 (aged 32)
14	Yuya Fukuda		(1999-04-04)4 April 1999 (aged 21)
15	Yosuke Ideguchi		(1996-08-23)23 August 1996 (aged 24)
17	Kohei Okuno		(2000-04-03)3 April 2000 (aged 20)
21	Shinya Yajima		(1994-01-18)18 January 1994 (aged 27)
29	Yuki Yamamoto		(1997-11-06)6 November 1997 (aged 23)
39	Takashi Usami		(1992-05-06)6 May 1992 (aged 28)
41	Jiro Nakamura		(2003-08-22)22 August 2003 (aged 17)
Forwards
9	Leandro Pereira		(1991-07-13)13 July 1991 (aged 29)
11	Yuji Ono		(1992-12-22)22 December 1992 (aged 28)
18	Patric		(1987-10-26)26 October 1987 (aged 33)
20	Kazunari Ichimi		(1997-11-10)10 November 1997 (aged 23)
28	Wellington Silva		(1993-01-06)6 January 1993 (aged 28)
30	Dai Tsukamoto		(2001-06-23)23 June 2001 (aged 19)
32	Tiago Alves		(1993-01-12)12 January 1993 (aged 28)
33	Haruto Shirai		(1999-10-23)23 October 1999 (aged 21)
34	Shuhei Kawasaki		(2001-04-28)28 April 2001 (aged 19)
37	Hiroto Yamami		(1998-08-16)16 August 1998 (aged 22)

Last updated: End of 2021 season.
Source: Soccer-DB

Transfers

Arrivals

Date	Position	Player	From	Type	Source
21 December 2020	DF	Yota Sato	Meiji University	Full	[7]
4 January 2021	GK	Mizuki Hayashi	Renofa Yamaguchi	Return from loan	[8]
4 January 2021	FW	Kazunari Ichimi	Yokohama FC	Return from loan	[9]
6 January 2021	MF	Ju Se-jong	FC Seoul	Full	[10]
22 January 2021	FW	Leandro Pereira	Matsumoto Yamaga	Full	[11]
23 January 2021	FW	Tiago Alves	Sagan Tosu	Full	[12]
24 March 2021	GK	Taichi Kato	Ehime FC	Loan	[13]
25 March 2021	FW	Wellington Silva	Fluminense	Full	[14]
26 July 2021	DF	Ko Yanagisawa	Mito Hollyhock	Full	[15]

Departures

Date	Position	Player	To	Type	Source
5 October 2020	MF	Yasuhito Endo	Júbilo Iwata	Loan	[16]
28 December 2020	FW	Ademilson		Contract terminated	[17]
4 January 2021	GK	Kosei Tani	Shonan Bellmare	Loan extension	[18]
4 January 2021	MF	Takahiro Ko	Albirex Niigata	Full	[19]
4 January 2021	FW	Kazuma Watanabe	Yokohama FC	Full	[20]
4 January 2021	FW	Daisuke Takagi	Renofa Yamaguchi	Full	[21]
5 January 2021	MF	Mizuki Ichimaru	FC Ryukyu	Full	[22]
6 January 2021	DF	Riku Matsuda	Zweigen Kanazawa	Full	[18]
6 January 2021	DF	Tatsuya Yamaguchi	Tokyo Verdy	Full	[23]
7 January 2021	DF	Ryo Shinzato	V-Varen Nagasaki	End of loan	[24]
7 January 2021	FW	Akito Takagi	Thespakusatsu Gunma	Full	[25]
8 January 2021	MF	Ren Shibamoto	SC Sagamihara	Loan	[26]
9 January 2021	MF	Leo Takae	Machida Zelvia	Full	[27]
8 February 2021	FW	Keito Nakamura	FC Juniors OÖ	Loan	[28]
27 April 2021	FW	Shoji Toyama	Ehime FC	Loan	[29]
11 August 2021	FW	Kazunari Ichimi	Tokushima Vortis	Full	[30]
11 August 2021	FW	Keito Nakamura	LASK	Full	[31]
10 September 2021	FW	Shuhei Kawasaki	Portimonense	Full	[32]

Competitions

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
J1 League	27 February 2021	4 December 2021	Matchday 1	13th place	38	12	8	18	33	49	−16	031.58
Emperor's Cup	16 June 2021	27 October 2021	Second round	Quarter-finals	4	3	0	1	9	4	+5	075.00
J.League Cup	1 September 2021	4 September 2021	Quarter-finals	Quarter-finals	2	1	0	1	1	4	−3	050.00
AFC Champions League	25 June 2021	10 July 2021	Group stage	Group stage	6	2	3	1	15	7	+8	033.33
Japanese Super Cup	20 February 2021		Final	Runners-up	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	000.00
Total					51	18	11	22	60	67	−7	035.29

Source: Soccerway

J1 League

Main article: 2021 J1 League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
11	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	38	12	13	13	44	42	+2	49
12	Cerezo Osaka	38	13	9	16	47	51	−4	48
13	Gamba Osaka	38	12	8	18	33	49	−16	44
14	Shimizu S-Pulse	38	10	12	16	37	54	−17	42
15	Kashiwa Reysol	38	12	5	21	37	56	−19	41

Source: Meiji Yasuda J1 League, J.League Data Site
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head goal scored; 7) Fair-play points.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	12	8	18	33	49	−16	44	5	4	10	17	28	−11	7	4	8	16	21	−5

Source: J.League Data Site

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H
Result	L	D	D	L	W	D	L	D	L	L	L	L	W	W	D	W	L	L	W	W	W	L	L	W	D	L	L	L	L	W	L	D	W	W	W	L	L	D
Position	16	19	18	18	17	18	18	18	18	18	19	19	18	18	16	17	17	17	15	13	13	13	13	12	13	13	13	14	14	13	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	13

Source: J.League Data Site
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Due to an outbreak of COVID-19 within the team after the first league game, Gamba did not play another game until the seventh game week.^[3]

Vissel Kobe v Gamba Osaka

27 February 1	Vissel Kobe	1–0	Gamba Osaka	Kobe
17:03 JST	Furuhashi 79'	Report		Stadium: Noevir Stadium Kobe Attendance: 4,636 Referee: Ruji Sato
Note: Matchweek 1

Sanfrecce Hiroshima v Gamba Osaka

3 April 2	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	0–0	Gamba Osaka	Hiroshima
14:03 JST		Report		Stadium: Edion Stadium Hiroshima Attendance: 8,665 Referee: Ryuji Sato
Note: Matchweek 7

Gamba Osaka v Avispa Fukuoka

7 April 3	Gamba Osaka	0–0	Avispa Fukuoka	Suita
19:03 JST		Report		Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 5,604 Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi
Note: Matchweek 8

Kashiwa Reysol v Gamba Osaka

11 April 4	Kashiwa Reysol	1–0	Gamba Osaka	Kashiwa
17:03 JST	Otani 76'	Report		Stadium: Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium Attendance: 5,555 Referee: Koei Koya
Note: Matchweek 9

Sagan Tosu v Gamba Osaka

14 April 5	Sagan Tosu	0–1	Gamba Osaka	Tosu
19:03 JST		Report	Usami 68'	Stadium: Ekimae Real Estate Stadium Attendance: 4,512 Referee: Hayato Shimizu
Note: Originally scheduled for matchweek 18

Gamba Osaka v Shimizu S-Pulse

18 April 6	Gamba Osaka	0–0	Shimizu S-Pulse	Suita
17:03 JST		Report		Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 4,819 Referee: Nobutsugu Murakami
Note: Matchweek 10

Nagoya Grampus v Gamba Osaka

22 April 7	Nagoya Grampus	2–0	Gamba Osaka	Toyota
19:33 JST	Yamasaki 29' Soma 55'	Report		Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 7,463 Referee: Hiroki Kasahara
Note: Matchweek 11

Cerezo Osaka v Gamba Osaka

2 May 8	Cerezo Osaka	1–1	Gamba Osaka	Osaka
15:03 JST	Nakajima 74'	Report	Patric 82' (pen.)	Stadium: Yodoko Sakura Stadium Referee: Yoshiro Imamura
Note: Matchweek 12

Gamba Osaka v Kawasaki Frontale

8 May 9	Gamba Osaka	0–2	Kawasaki Frontale	Suita
18:03 JST		Report	Damião 41' Mitoma 76'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Referee: Ryo Tanimoto
Note: Matchweek 13

Gamba Osaka v Sanfrecce Hiroshima

12 May 10	Gamba Osaka	1–2	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	Suita
18:03 JST	Osako 44' (o.g.)	Report	Sasaki 36' Kawabe 65'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Referee: Yuichi Nishimura
Note: Brought forward from matchweek 20

Gamba Osaka v Urawa Red Diamonds

16 May 11	Gamba Osaka	0–3	Urawa Red Diamonds	Suita
17:03 JST		Report	Junker 16', 40' Tanaka 20'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Referee: Hiroki Kasahara
Note: Matchweek 14

FC Tokyo v Gamba Osaka

22 May 12	FC Tokyo	1–0	Gamba Osaka	Chōfu
19:01 JST	Oliveira 1'	Report		Stadium: Ajinomoto Stadium Attendance: 4,886 Referee: Koichiro Fukushima
Note: Matchweek 15

Gamba Osaka v Tokushima Vortis

27 May 13	Gamba Osaka	2–1	Tokushima Vortis	Suita
19:03 JST	Patric 27' Usami 72'	Report	Iwao 67' (pen.)	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Referee: Jumpei Iida
Note: Matchweek 16

Gamba Osaka v Yokohama FC

30 May 14	Gamba Osaka	2–0	Yokohama FC	Suita
17:03 JST	Pereira 42' (pen.), 55'	Report		Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Referee: Takuto Okabe
Note: Matchweek 17

Shonan Bellmare v Gamba Osaka

2 June 15	Shonan Bellmare	0–0	Gamba Osaka	Hiratsuka
19:03 JST		Report		Stadium: Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka Attendance: 4,610 Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi
Note: Brought forward from matchweek 19

Avispa Fukuoka v Gamba Osaka

17 July 16	Avispa Fukuoka	0–1	Gamba Osaka	Fukuoka
18:34 JST		Report	Patric 85'	Stadium: Best Denki Stadium Attendance: 6,591 Referee: Koichiro Fukushima
Note: Matchweek 21

Gamba Osaka v Vissel Kobe

21 July 17	Gamba Osaka	1–2	Vissel Kobe	Suita
19:03 JST	Patric 19'	Report	Douglas 26' Tanaka 31'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 4,998 Referee: Jumpei Iida
Note: Matchweek 22

Gamba Osaka v Kashima Antlers

24 July 18	Gamba Osaka	0–1	Kashima Antlers	Suita
19:03 JST		Report	Caíke 72'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 4,961 Referee: Hajime Matsuo
Note: Rescheduled matchweek 2 fixture

Gamba Osaka v Oita Trinita

27 July 19	Gamba Osaka	2–1	Oita Trinita	Suita
19:03 JST	Pereira 84' Usami 90+4'	Report	Trevisan 60'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 4,205 Referee: Nobutsugu Murakami
Note: Rescheduled matchweek 3 fixture

Consadole Sapporo v Gamba Osaka

30 July 20	Consadole Sapporo	0–2	Gamba Osaka	Sapporo
18:03 JST		Report	Yajima 29' Pereira 53'	Stadium: Sapporo Atsubetsu Stadium Attendance: 3,845 Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi
Note: Rescheduled matchweek 4 fixture

Vegalta Sendai v Gamba Osaka

3 August 21	Vegalta Sendai	0–1	Gamba Osaka	Sendai
19:03 JST		Report	Patric 35'	Stadium: Yurtec Stadium Sendai Attendance: 4,940 Referee: Yusuke Araki
Note: Rescheduled matchweek 5 fixture

Gamba Osaka v Yokohama F. Marinos

6 August 22	Gamba Osaka	2–3	Yokohama F. Marinos	Suita
19:03 JST	Leandro 56' (pen.) Patric 90+5'	Report	Élber 32' Marcos Júnior 48' Mizunuma 74'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 4,459 Referee: Masaaki Iemoto
Note: Rescheduled matchweek 6 fixture

Tokushima Vortis v Gamba Osaka

9 August 23	Tokushima Vortis	2–1	Gamba Osaka	Naruto
19:04 JST	Miyashiro 30' Nishiya 45+1'	Report	Alves 90+1'	Stadium: Pocarisweat Stadium Attendance: 6,415 Referee: Hiroki Kasahara

Shimizu S-Pulse v Gamba Osaka

13 August 24	Shimizu S-Pulse	0–1	Gamba Osaka	Shimizu
19:03 JST		Report	Yamami 82'	Stadium: IAI Stadium Nihondaira Attendance: 6,865 Referee: Koichiro Fukushima

Gamba Osaka v FC Tokyo

21 August 25	Gamba Osaka	0–0	FC Tokyo	Suita
19:01 JST		Report		Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 4,973 Referee: Yuichi Nishimura

Yokohama FC v Gamba Osaka

25 August 26	Yokohama FC	3–1	Gamba Osaka	Yokohama
19:03 JST	Silva 45+5' Vizeu 80' Yasunaga 90+8'	Report	Sato  45+2' Ono 48'	Stadium: Mitsuzawa Stadium Attendance: 3,892 Referee: Yoshiro Imamura

Gamba Osaka v Cerezo Osaka

28 August 27	Gamba Osaka	0–1	Cerezo Osaka	Suita
19:03 JST		Report	Matsuda 51'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 4,976 Referee: Masaaki Iemoto

Gamba Osaka v Vegalta Sendai

12 September 28	Gamba Osaka	2–3	Vegalta Sendai	Suita
18:33 JST	Yajima 39' Patric 60' (pen.)	Report	Togashi 37', 42' Nishimura 79'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 4,777 Referee: Hiroki Kasahara

Kashima Antlers v Gamba Osaka

18 September 29	Kashima Antlers	3–1	Gamba Osaka	Kashima
18:03 JST	Ueda 52' Alano 60' Doi 73'	Report	Alves 80' (pen.)	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 3,586 Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi

Gamba Osaka v Kashiwa Reysol

26 September 30	Gamba Osaka	2–1	Kashiwa Reysol	Suita
19:03 JST	Usami 3' Suganuma 26'	Report	Kamiya 86'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 4,886 Referee: Koichiro Fukushima

Gamba Osaka v Consadole Sapporo

2 October 31	Gamba Osaka	1–5	Consadole Sapporo	Suita
19:03 JST	Patric 65'	Report	Komai 5' Fernandes 32' Takamine 40' Kaneko 47' Oliveira 88'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 9,987 Referee: Masuya Ueda

Urawa Red Diamonds v Gamba Osaka

16 October 32	Urawa Red Diamonds	1–1	Gamba Osaka	Saitama
15:04 JST	Esaka 90+1' (pen.)	Report	Patric 90+4' (pen.)	Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002 Attendance: 10,233 Referee: Hayato Shimizu

Gamba Osaka v Sagan Tosu

23 October 33	Gamba Osaka	1–0	Sagan Tosu	Suita
17:03 JST	Usami 10'	Report		Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 9,886 Referee: Ryo Tanimoto

Yokohama F. Marinos v Gamba Osaka

3 November 34	Yokohama F. Marinos	0–1	Gamba Osaka	Yokohama
13:09 JST		Report	Kurata 55'	Stadium: Nissan Stadium Attendance: 21,528 Referee: Futoshi Nakamura

Oita Trinita v Gamba Osaka

7 November 35	Oita Trinita	2–3	Gamba Osaka	Ōita
14:03 JST	Fujiharu 28' (o.g.) Goya 39'	Report	Patric 29', 53', 84' (pen.)	Stadium: Resonac Dome Oita Attendance: 10,021 Referee: Masuya Ueda

Gamba Osaka v Nagoya Grampus

20 November 36	Gamba Osaka	1–3	Nagoya Grampus	Suita
14:02 JST	Patric 53'	Report	Świerczok 8', 29' Kakitani 22'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 16,343 Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura

Kawasaki Frontale v Gamba Osaka

27 November 37	Kawasaki Frontale	4–1	Gamba Osaka	Kawasaki
14:03 JST	Damião 7', 85' Hatate 9' Kurumaya 90+4'	Report	Usami 17'	Stadium: Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium Attendance: 14,867 Referee: Takuto Okabe

Gamba Osaka v Shonan Bellmare

4 December 38	Gamba Osaka	0–0	Shonan Bellmare	Suita
14:03 JST		Report		Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 16,699 Referee: Hayato Shimizu

Emperor's Cup

Main article: 2021 Emperor's Cup

Gamba Osaka v Kwansei Gakuin University

16 June Second round	Gamba Osaka	3–1	Kwansei Gakuin University	Suita
18:00 JST	Onose 11' Wellington Silva 21' Patric 87'	Report	Waki 55'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 4,031 Referee: Ryo Tanimoto

Gamba Osaka v Matsumoto Yamaga FC

18 August Third round	Gamba Osaka	2–0 (a.e.t.)	Matsumoto Yamaga FC	Suita
18:00 JST	Yanagisawa 95' Ideguchi 100'	Report		Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 3,123 Referee: Ryo Tanimoto [ja]

Gamba Osaka v Shonan Bellmare

22 September Round of 16	Gamba Osaka	4–1	Shonan Bellmare	Suita
18:00 JST	Patric 2', 56' Wellington Silva 26' Kurata 42'	Report	Shibata 64'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 2,874 Referee: Koei Koya [ja]

Gamba Osaka v Urawa Red Diamonds

27 October Quarter-finals	Gamba Osaka	0–2	Urawa Red Diamonds	Suita
18:30 JST		Report	Junker 10' Sekine 42'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 5,553 Referee: Yuichi Nishimura

J.League Cup

Main article: 2021 J.League Cup

Due to their involvement in the 2021 AFC Champions League, Gamba received a bye for the group and playoff stages of the competition. However, they were knocked out at their first hurdle, the quarter-final stage, by Osaka rivals Cerezo Osaka.

Quarter-finals

Cerezo Osaka v Gamba Osaka

1 September Quarter-final Leg 1	Cerezo Osaka	0–1	Gamba Osaka	Osaka
19:03 JST		Report	Yamami 89'	Stadium: Yodoko Sakura Stadium Attendance: 4,205 Referee: Koichiro Fukushima

Gamba Osaka v Cerezo Osaka

5 September Quarter-final Leg 2	Gamba Osaka	0–4	Cerezo Osaka	Osaka
19:03 JST		Report	Yamada 24' M. Kato 32' Fujita 56' Matsuda 68'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 4,869 Referee: Hajime Matsuo

Cerezo Osaka won 4–1 on aggregate.

AFC Champions League

Main article: 2021 AFC Champions League

Group stage

Main article: 2021 AFC Champions League group stage

Gamba Osaka were drawn into Group H, alongside two-time winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of South Korea, Tampines Rovers of Singapore and Australia's Sydney FC.^[33] In June 2021, it was announced that all Australian teams would not be participating in the 2021 AFC Champions League due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.^[34] Sydney FC were replaced in Group H by Thailand's Chiangrai United.^[35]

The games in Group H all took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan between 25 June and 10 July.^[36] All matches were played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Uzbekistan.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	6	5	1	0	22	5	+17	16	Advance to Round of 16
2	Gamba Osaka	6	2	3	1	15	7	+8	9
3	Chiangrai United	6	2	2	2	8	7	+1	8
4	Tampines Rovers	6	0	0	6	1	27	−26	0

Source: AFC

Tampines Rovers v Gamba Osaka

25 June 1	Tampines Rovers	0–2	Gamba Osaka	Tashkent
19:00 UZT (UTC+5)		Report	Patric 26' Pereira 88'	Stadium: Lokomotiv Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Nivon Robesh Gamini (Sri Lanka)

Gamba Osaka v Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

28 June 2	Gamba Osaka	2–2	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Tashkent
21:00 UZT (UTC+5)	Patric 27', 31'	Report	Iljutcenko 2' Kunimoto 17'	Stadium: Lokomotiv Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Mohammed Al-Hoish (Saudi Arabia)

Chiangrai United v Gamba Osaka

1 July 3	Chiangrai United	1–1	Gamba Osaka	Tashkent
21:00 UZT (UTC+5)	Bill 90+4'	Report	Pereira 88'	Stadium: Bunyodkor Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Gamba Osaka v Chiangrai United

4 July 4	Gamba Osaka	1–1	Chiangrai United	Tashkent
21:00 UZT (UTC+5)	Brinner 54' (o.g.)	Report	Felipe Amorim 6'	Stadium: Lokomotiv Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)

Gamba Osaka v Tampines Rovers

7 July 5	Gamba Osaka	8–1	Tampines Rovers	Tashkent
19:00 UZT (UTC+5)	Kurata 21' Kawasaki 25', 53', 80' Ichimi 28' Wellington 75' Patric 78', 87'	Report	Bennett 27'	Stadium: Bunyodkor Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Yu Ming-hsun (Chinese Taipei)

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors v Gamba Osaka

10 July 6	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2–1	Gamba Osaka	Tashkent
19:00 UZT (UTC+5)	Gustavo 6' (pen.) Barrow 88'	Report	Patric 53'	Stadium: Bunyodkor Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Japanese Super Cup

Main article: 2021 Japanese Super Cup

Kawasaki Frontale v Gamba Osaka

20 February	Kawasaki Frontale	3–2	Gamba Osaka	Saitama
13:35 JST	Mitoma 29', 33' Kobayashi 90+6'	Report	Yajima 60' Patric 67' (pen.)	Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama Attendance: 4,208 Referee: Yusuke Araki

Statistics

Appearances

No.	Name	J1 League		Emperor's Cup		J.League Cup		AFC CL		Super Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	Masaaki Higashiguchi	38	0	1	0	2	0	4	0	1	0	46	0
25	Kei Ishikawa	0	0	3	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	5	0
Defenders
3	Gen Shoji	26+2	0	0	0	1	0	5	0	0	0	36	0
4	Hiroki Fujiharu	16+3	0	0+2	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	25	0
5	Genta Miura	25+1	0	0+1	0	2	0	4+1	0	1	0	35	0
13	Shunya Suganuma	19	1	4	0	2	0	2	0	1	0	28	1
16	Yota Sato	7+1	0	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	14	0
19	Kim Young-gwon	16	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	20	0
24	Keisuke Kurokawa	15+4	0	3	0	1	0	1+5	0	0	0	29	0
26	Ko Yanagisawa	7+8	0	3	1	1+1	0	0	0	0	0	20	1
27	Ryu Takao	11+8	0	1+2	0	0+1	0	1	0	0+1	0	25	0
40	Shin Won-ho	0	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Midfielders
6	Ju Se-jong	12+10	0	2+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	25	0
8	Kosuke Onose	22+9	0	3+1	1	1+1	0	4+1	0	1	0	43	1
10	Shu Kurata	26+11	1	0+3	1	1+2	0	3+3	1	1	0	49	3
14	Yuya Fukuda	8+6	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	16	0
15	Yosuke Ideguchi	24+5	0	2+1	1	2	0	5+1	0	1	0	41	1
17	Kohei Okuno	16+10	0	4	0	1	0	3+2	0	0	0	36	0
21	Shinya Yajima	17+9	2	0+1	0	1+2	0	4	0	1	1	34	3
29	Yuki Yamamoto	20+8	0	1+2	0	1+2	0	2+1	0	1	0	36	0
39	Takashi Usami	28+10	6	2+2	0	1+2	0	5	0	0	0	49	6
41	Jiro Nakamura	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Forwards
9	Leandro Pereira	15+9	5	0+1	0	1+2	0	2+4	2	0+1	0	34	7
11	Yuji Ono	2+5	1	1+2	0	1	0	1+2	0	0	0	13	1
18	Patric	22+11	13	2+1	3	1+1	0	3+3	6	1	1	45	23
20	Kazunari Ichimi	6+12	1	1	0	0	0	1+2	1	0+1	0	23	2
28	Wellington Silva	8+13	0	3	2	0	0	1+4	1	0	0	29	3
30	Dai Tsukamoto	4+4	0	0+1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	10	0
32	Tiago Alves	6+11	2	2+1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	21	2
33	Haruto Shirai	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
34	Shuhei Kawasaki	1+2	0	2	0	0	0	2+1	3	1	0	9	3
37	Hiroto Yamami	0+5	1	0	0	1+1	1	0	0	0	0	7	2
Players loaned or transferred out during the season
7	Juan Alano	5+7	1	2+1	0	3+1	0	0	0	0	0	19	1
18	Ayase Ueda	17+1	10	0+1	1	2+2	3	0	0	0	0	25	14
19	Itsuki Someno	0+12	1	1	1	2+6	2	0	0	0	0	21	4

Last updated: 12 June 2023.
Source: jleague.co, Soccer D.B.

Goalscorers

The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

Rnk	Pos	No.	Player	J1	EC	JLC	AFC	JSC	Total
1	FW	18	Patric	13	3	0	6	1	23
2	FW	9	Leandro Pereira	5	0	0	2	0	7
3	MF	39	Takashi Usami	6	0	0	0	0	6
4	MF	10	Shu Kurata	1	1	0	1	0	3
	MF	21	Shinya Yajima	2	0	0	0	1	3
	FW	28	Wellington Silva	0	2	0	1	0	3
	FW	34	Shuhei Kawasaki	0	0	0	3	0	3
8	MF	20	Kazunari Ichimi	1	0	0	1	0	2
	FW	32	Tiago Alves	2	0	0	0	0	2
	FW	37	Hiroto Yamami	1	0	1	0	0	2
11	MF	8	Kosuke Onose	0	1	0	0	0	1
	FW	11	Yuji Ono	1	0	0	0	0	1
	DF	13	Shunya Suganuma	1	0	0	0	0	1
	MF	15	Yosuke Ideguchi	0	1	0	0	0	1
	DF	26	Ko Yanagisawa	0	1	0	0	0	1
	–	–	Own goal	0	0	0	1	0	1
TOTALS				33	9	1	15	2	60

Last updated: 13 June 2023.
Source: jleague.co, besoccer.com

Clean sheets

The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal.

Rnk	No.	Player	J1	EC	JLC	AFC	JSC	Total
1	1	Masaaki Higashiguchi	14	0	1	1	0	16
2	25	Kei Ishikawa	0	1	0	0	0	1
TOTALS			14	1	1	1	0	17

Last updated: 13 June 2023.
Source: fbref.com