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The story
Keito Nakamura of Ligue 1 side Lyon recorded two assists in their Europa League clash with Crystal Palace, as Lyon won 3-2. In the first half, Nuamah converted a cutback from the left, and in the second half Schulz scored off a cutback from the right to extend the lead. Palace’s Daichi Kamada came on as a substitute and pulled one goal back, but it wasn’t enough. On 5ch, many praised Nakamura’s dribbling, while others pointed out that Palace had fielded a “rotated” lineup resting their regulars for league play — splitting opinion on how much weight to give the performance.
Japan national team midfielder Keito Nakamura, who plays for Ligue 1 club Lyon, started in their Europa League match against Crystal Palace (England) on the 15th (16th Japan time). He recorded two assists, helping Lyon to a 3-2 win. The 26-year-old’s razor-sharp breakthroughs that created scoring chances have sparked a wave of reaction online.
He dazzled with his signature dribbling. Starting on the left flank, Nakamura asserted himself as an attacking focal point, and in first-half stoppage time, with Lyon leading 1-0, he received the ball on the left, carried it forward, and cut it back into the middle. Nuamah converted that ball to make it 2-0.
In the 31st minute of the second half, with the score at 2-1, he flicked on a cutback from the right to set up Schulz’s goal. Crystal Palace’s Japan international Daichi Kamada came on midway through the second half and pulled one back in the 37th minute, but it was Nakamura, with his two assists, who came out on top.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Judging by his play alone, he could hold his own in the Premier League
Durability's the only question mark
Dude, the opponent was rotating their squad…
Could you not tell just from Kamada being on the bench?
He might actually end up at a big club
No way — Palace were rotating, Kamada was on the bench, and Tomiyasu wasn't even in the squad
If stuff outside the league doesn't count, Okunuki's scored against Premier League opposition too — but do you even know who Okunuki is?
If Itoh were Nakamura's age, he'd easily be at a big club by now
Completely different type of player
Try again
Matsuki too, maybe
He's got that 'star' charisma to carry on the line of Kazu, Hide, and Honda (legendary Japanese football icons known as much for personality as skill)
Every attacker on the national team really ought to have that goal-forcing ability
What's interesting about Nakamura's play is the fine technique he shows off while trying to break a goal open
He was scoring every match and going off, so Lee Kang-in was stuck watching enviously from the sidelines
The way his club basically shut him away after that was brutal
He put up numbers that should've easily gotten him to the Premier League
He was performing way better than Lee, who was the one looking at Nakamura with envy
His police-officer cosplay was so insanely handsome that I looked up what 'talent' he was, and I was shocked to find out he's a footballer
If this were a decade or two ago, he'd be way more popular
Feels like Crystal Palace's fullback got beaten by Nakamura way too many times, but he's undoubtedly Man of the Match
That's because Palace were rotating their squad
Kamada was on the bench too
Kamada only really started performing well last season lol
Though his potential was always high
Surely that's Kagawa, no?
If you get completely crushed even while rotating, what was the point of rotating lol
You don't get what rotating means?
Avoiding relegation in the league is the priority, so they use their best XI for league matches
For competitions outside the league like this one, they rest the starters and rotate in subs instead
The whole point of rotating is to rest your starters, so it does serve a purpose
He looks like a total country bumpkin
A real lesson in just how much a hairstyle matters
Keito Nakamura really looks like a different person with a different hairstyle
https://imgur.com/5RB08bO.jpg
https://imgur.com/bbYoDZN.gif
A picture that teaches you a face is like 90% hairstyle
Especially that bottom-right one with the Udo Suzuki-esque haircut (a comedian known for his scruffy perm) — if he still had that today, nobody would call him handsome
Background and Key Points of This Topic
This wasn’t an official Premier League match — it was a league-phase fixture in the UEFA Europa League, with opponents Crystal Palace happening to be a Premier League club. Palace prioritized their league standing and rotated their lineup, resting regulars like Daichi Kamada on the bench, which split opinion on the thread: some straightforwardly praised Nakamura’s performance, while others argued the gap in quality should be judged with the opposing lineup in mind. Both of his assists came from cutbacks from the left and right flanks that teammates converted, making it a match where Nakamura’s value as a creative spark — not just his solo dribbling — stood out.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Hustle+) thread “【Keito Nakamura】”Dominant Performance Against a Premier League Side” — Shock at the 26-Year-Old Japanese Star Running Riot in Europe, “He Deserves More Credit” — Fans Applaud a Stunning Two-Assist Display“.
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