Chapter 125 Touchstone

"The second half of the game restarted."

"Judging from the lineups of both teams returning to the stadium, neither team has any idea of ​​making substitutions."

"The young Ajax performed very well in the first half. Although they were equalized at one point, Ibrahimovic scored a goal very quickly. This goal from the Swedish center vital."

"Now we'll see if Arsenal will make tactical adjustments at half-time."

...

"Ajax served first, but very quickly, the ball was lost."

"Arsenal still controls the situation on the field. The overall strength of the Gunners occupies an overwhelming advantage, but from the performance of the first half, Ajax is not completely incapable of resisting. Both teams are Great old team in Europe."

"Look at the Arsenal attack this time."

"Ljungberg on the right didn't have a chance, crossed to the middle and handed it to Vieira."

"Vieira goes to the left and passes to Pires."

"Henry moves to the left to get the ball, which is the most dangerous area for the French striker."

"Faced with Trabelsi, Henry was very fast, very flexible with his feet, passed back to Pires, and cut inside himself."

"Let's pass Pires again, a beautiful two-to-one..."

"Henry takes the ball again, faces Heitinga, and returns to the penalty area..."

"Pire..."

"The ball is in!!!!"

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"

"God, just less than two minutes into the second half, Arsenal assisted Henry Pires to score a crucial goal!"

"Two to two, the two sides are back on the same starting line again."

"It was a very, very morale-boosting goal. It was a personal performance by two top stars, Henry and Pires."

"Ajax had three players defending on this side, Trabelsey, Heitinga and Sneijder, but all three of them were applauded by Arsenal's two big stars, and they didn't fight back. Power."

"Especially Henry's last assist for Pires. Sneijder wanted to pull Pires in the penalty area, but he finally let go. He obviously knew very well the consequences of pulling Pires."

"The situation turned abruptly and Arsenal levelled again at the beginning of the second half, 2-2."

"It's definitely a spark of passion between top stars, a wonderful collaboration."

"Henry and Pires from Arsenal!"

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The entire Amsterdam Arena fell into a dead silence.

Head coach Ronald Koeman slapped his forehead hard on the sidelines and kept shaking his head. Obviously, he could not accept this sudden change. He would never have thought that at the beginning of the second half, the team was equalized by Arsenal.

But in the face of such a goal, what can he say?

Blame the players for being bad defensively?

No, Henry and Pires' continuous wall-to-wall coordination is not only fast, but also very tacit. Ajax's defenders simply don't have enough time to react, let alone give countermeasures.

To put it mildly, facing such an opponent really can only wait to die.

This goal was definitely a tragic blow to Ajax's morale.

In the locker room just now, he was still encouraging and mobilizing the players. He had to keep the start in the second half, but he didn't expect that Arsenal would come directly as soon as they came on the field. How could this make the Ajax players not frustrated?

Looking at the dumbfounded players on the court, Ronald Koeman suddenly felt a sense of pity. They were not very old, most of them were in their early twenties, but they had to suffer such a huge blow and could bear it. ?

"We need to stabilize now, Ronald." Luther Carroll reminded aside.

Ronald Koeman kept nodding, took a deep breath, and walked quickly to the sidelines.

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In the chairman's stand, after seeing Arsenal's goal at the start of the second half to tie the score, chairman Van Prager raised his hands in surprise and kept shaking his head, his face full of frustration and frustration.

In the first half, Ajax was very fortunate to score two goals for Arsenal. Originally, as long as the score was 2-1, there was still hope for visiting Highbury Stadium. Two away goals for Arsenal.

In a crucial knockout match like this, giving the opponent two away goals in the first leg is rather unfavorable.

"The most important thing now is to stabilize. The 2-2 score is not desperate, but if you can't keep it, it may be a fiasco at any time." Van Gaal said calmly.

He feels like the game is won or lost. Everything that happens on the court has nothing to do with him. It doesn't arouse the slightest emotional fluctuations in him, but at this time, it makes people feel that he is trustworthy.

"We are too young, and we were a little careless at the beginning, which gave Arsenal a chance to take advantage, and the cooperation between Henry and Pires this time is indeed world-class, even if we focus on defense, we may not be able to hold it, so, It's understandable to concede a ball like that."

Van Gaal's eyes were fixed on the court. He noticed that Koeman, in front of the coach of the home team, walked to the sidelines and encouraged the players. A flash of admiration flashed in his eyes. At this time, Koeman made a very correct choice.

"This is also a challenge for our young players. Difficulties on the football field are like touchstones. Whether it is gold or stone, after difficult polishing, it will soon emerge."

Van Prager nodded. He is not the kind of chairman who doesn't understand football at all. Even if this game really loses, it is normal. After all, he is facing a powerful Arsenal and Ajax. Winning is cold.

It's just that his eyes looking at the stadium are somewhat hopeful.

As Van Gaal said, difficulty is the touchstone, whether it is gold or stone, depends on the next player's performance.

Ibrahimovic, Van der Vaart, Wesley Sonk, Sneijder...

Who can stand up and save Ajax?

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A very tough opponent!

Yang Yang looked at the French teenager who was walking back panting beside him, and praised in his heart.

He is fast, explosive, and has excellent stamina, which makes Yang Yang feel that all his advantages are not worth mentioning in front of him.

It's hard to believe that this is an eighteen-year-old teenager.

And Clichy is already so good, how terrible is Ashley Cole, the world's top left-back?

Compared with them, the Eredivisie left-backs are too loose.

Especially with the deepening of the game, into the second half, Clichy did not dare to give Yang Yang the slightest space and opportunity.

Trabelsi is already exhausted facing Pires and Henry, and it is impossible to be able to press up to support Yang Yang. Sneijder is behind, Ibrahimovic is locked in the front, Van der Vaart After the second half, I began to fall into a habitual physical bottleneck, and my running gradually couldn't keep up with the rhythm of the game.

Yang Yang was not at all surprised by the team captain's performance, because he was like this in most of his games.

It is said that it was a serious injury in the past. After the meniscus was removed, he lost his speed. As a result, he can't play his favorite striker and has to adjust to the middle. However, playing in the middle requires a lot of movement. his weakness.

In this game, he is facing midfielders like Vieira and Edu, especially Vieira. This black and strong midfield superstar puts too much pressure on people. Yang Yang believes that anyone In Van der Vaart's position, it is difficult to play normally.

How to do?

Yang Yang looked around at a loss, feeling as if he had fallen into a situation of helplessness.

After the equalizer, Arsenal's morale was boosted, and they launched waves of attacks against Ajax. Their strategy was clear, that is, to strive for more goals, at least return to London with a draw.

But a draw is unacceptable for Ajax.

There is no victory at home, and the possibility of promotion away is very small, even impossible.

But now the whole team is so embarrassed, how can they still score?

What to attack?

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Ronald Koeman was quick to adjust.

In the 60th minute, Ajax replaced Van der Vaart with Galasek.

This time the substitution is obviously to strengthen the team's midfield defense. After all, Sneijder's delay is just a buffer strategy. He is better at playing a midfielder in Ajax, or a more forward attacking midfielder position. , using his passing and playmaking skills.

Van der Vaart handed the team's captain's armband to Galasek before he came off the field, and the 30-year-old came on with Ronald Koeman's adjustment order. He put Sneijder further forward, He was dragged behind to form a double back with De Jong.

Timely substitutions and tactical adjustments helped Ajax stabilize the situation on the field, and Arsenal's offense was also curbed to a certain extent, especially the double midfielders of Galasek and De Jong, which obviously strengthened the front of the defense. Protect.

But soon, Arsenal also further strengthened the team's frontcourt offensive. High center Kanu replaced the Spanish teenager Reyes, who had an average performance in this game. This is obviously to further strengthen Arsenal's frontcourt attack. .

It is not difficult to see from this substitution that Ajax is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of overall strength and bench thickness, and Wenger is not satisfied with a draw at all, he wants to take a victory away from home.

Taking advantage of Arsenal's substitution, Yang Yang looked up at the scoreboard, and the time was exactly 64 minutes.

The head coach Ronald Koeman told him before the game that he was going to play for 70 to 75 minutes in this game, and the time for him to end was getting closer, but he was on the right. But it's always hard to get a chance.

This time Gallacek came on the field and did not bring any instructions from Ronald Koeman to Yang Yang, which seemed to confirm what the head coach said in the locker room at halftime that he could no longer deal with the players. Ask for more.

Especially Yang Yang.

But this does not mean that Yang Yang has no demands on himself.

Facing Clichy throughout the game, Yang Yang basically did not take advantage of it, and he was very unconvinced.

This is the worst game he has played since his debut. The opponent turned out to be an 18-year-old teenager who is only one year older than him. He really doesn't believe that he can't take advantage of the opponent, even if he Richie is Wenger's hand-picked star of hope.

He just wants to try his best, and even if it doesn't work, he has to create opportunities for the teammates who come off the bench next.

Just thinking about it, Ajax finally fought back again.

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