Thank you to "Samsara 9999" for the tip!
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Celta's front and back were disconnected from Ajax's pressure, and it all stemmed from the change in their formation.
To prevent Ajax from scoring an equalizer, they strengthened the defense of the rear defensive line.
As a result, the midfield was empty, and Ajax concentrated heavily in the midfield. Between the full backs, Maxwell and Grygera, one of them would press forward at the right time, and the other would defend. Including the two full backs and the defensive midfielder, De Jong, Ajax would have at least four players in the defense of the back half of the field.
Even if Celta's defense was successful, they would not be able to attack.
Ajax's high-pressure defensive blockade from the midfield made it impossible for their offense in the middle to advance forward. If they relied on the flanks, Velasco and Silvinho's starting positions were too dangerous as they were closer to the penalty area. Once they lost the ball, they would be hit by Ajax's fatal sneak attack. Therefore, they did not dare to control the ball for a long time, and could only send artillery shells to the front field through long passes.
With such a long distance, whether the football flew in the air or rolled on the ground, it took a longer time, giving Ajax's defensive players more time to react. This made Ajax's defense watertight, and they continuously organized attacks to launch indiscriminate attacks on Celta's goal.
In the 63rd minute, Snede received Qin Xiong's short pass from the left side in front of the penalty area and kicked a powerful shot. The football slid slightly out of the goal.
Three minutes later, Qin Xiong created another opportunity for Maxwell in the same area. Maxwell's shot hit Sergio and bounced out. Ajax had more players in the midfield, and the periphery controlled the football to fall in a wider area. In the second attack, Qin Xiong sent a wonderful pass to Qin Xiong. Unfortunately, Qin Xiong was in a race against time and directly shot a long shot, and the football hit the crossbar and bounced off the stands.
After the shot, Qin Xiong raised his hand to Snede. Perhaps Snede's position was better, but Qin Xiong's pass was also very risky.
Snede nodded solemnly at Qin Xiong. He didn't blame Qin Xiong at all.
Selta's firm belief in defense became even stronger. They were frightened by Ajax's tide-like attacks.
Grygra, Pinar, Qin Xiong, Snede, and Maxwell completed a total of nine long shots in twenty minutes!
Among them, three of them hit the goal, and Carvalero made a miraculous contribution by blocking high and low!
Ivan and Van Der Vaart were in an extremely awkward situation!
None of their teammates passed the ball to them!
As for the two of them, no one dared to complain!
If it was just a teammate who did this and deliberately did not pass the ball to them, it would be fine. They would lose their temper and confront him verbally.
However, when Qin Xiong, Pinar, Sneijder, as well as Grygera and Maxwell, who were assisting them, did not pass the ball to the two of them, the two of them clearly felt that the consecutive missed opportunities in the first half and their selfish performance had angered their teammates!
The reason why they didn't have the courage to argue with their teammates was that Ajax's offense was very fierce!
Even without the performance of the two players, Ajax played even more aggressively than in the first half!
In the first half, he was able to continuously create good opportunities, but the game was a tug of war, back and forth.
At this stage in the second half, it had completely become Ajax's half of the field!
This couldn't be separated from Selta's lack of European experience, the poor coaching skills, and the fact that the team didn't have many big matches.
It also couldn't be separated from the selfless and proactive teamwork between Qin Xiong, Pinar, Snede, and the others.
Selta was not a top team. They did not have the defensive rigor and rationality of an Italian team, and at the same time, they did not have strong technical and tactical strength.
Originally, this was a game that Ajax could have won with a high probability as long as he played with the strength that he had developed recently. However, due to the selfishness of his teammates, it became extremely difficult for him to become a hero!
Although it could not be said that Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Van Der Vaart were invisible, and Ajax became a nine-man team, the two of them had contributed greatly to the team as the bridgehead that attracted the firepower.
However, during the crucial attack, the two of them had no chance to be in the limelight.
Selta was already a little flustered.
As they endured wave after wave of Ajax's attacks and watched the football bombard their own goal time and time again, they became more and more nervous, and the pressure also increased!
They were afraid that one of the long shots would change the score.
This made them involuntarily press forward to block the outer long shots, wanting to keep the enemy at a thousand miles away and protect themselves.
When Selta's defensive line began to become restless, Qin Xiong was relieved when he saw Ajax's players fiercely snatching the ball after controlling it at the front waistline!
There was no set of tactics on the football field that could guarantee a goal.
Long passes, passes from the flanks, flying from both wings, pushing from the middle, team passes and cuts. No matter what tactics were used, there was no guarantee that a goal would be scored. It was just a matter of which tactics were used by a team that had a higher chance of scoring.
In the previous state, Ajax's highest chance of scoring a goal was a long shot. It was not wise to develop an attack into the penalty area. The opponent had strengthened the defense of the defensive line, but the midfield was empty. Ajax could shoot long shots without restraint and posed a very high threat. Perhaps the next long shot would be able to break the goal. This was also the reason why Selta was flustered.
They were now trying to limit the success rate of Ajax's long shots.
But this was also what Qin Xiong was looking forward to!
In the 79th minute, after Pienaar passed the ball to Qin Xiong in the midfield, Qin Xiong gently moved the ball to the front left when Lucin rushed forward to snatch the ball. Then, he brushed past Lucin and ran in the direction of the pass.
Snede and Qin Xiong's tacit cooperation should be the best in Ajax's team.
When Qin Xiong's tendency to pass and run was revealed, Snede understood tacitly.
Snede passed the ball back to Qin Xiong!
Selta thought that Qin Xiong would switch positions with Snede again. But, no!
Qin Xiong dribbled the ball to develop in the middle, crossing the line in front of the penalty area!
Contreras, Sergio, and Berizzo were facing a formidable enemy.
They were afraid that Qin Xiong would repeat the previous goal and suddenly break through again.
Berizzo came to block Qin Xiong. Qin Xiong's control of the ball suddenly paused. When Berizzo was about to kick the ball, he lightly kicked the ball under his opponent's crotch with the tip of his foot, and then quickly brushed past Berizzo.
Berizzo was too uncomfortable!
Qin Xiong was facing in a strange direction!
He was not facing the goal, but the other side of the sideline, which made his defense very strange. Instead, he was worried about Qin Xiong entering the penalty area, so his defensive posture looked unnatural. He was helpless when Qin Xiong passed through his opponent's crotch.
After Qin Xiong passed Berizzo, he came to the middle of the penalty area and had an angle for a long shot.
Perhaps it was because Qin Xiong had hit him from the far corner before, so Carvalero purposely moved to the right side of the goal this time, worried that Qin Xiong would hit the same angle with his right foot.
When Juanfran abandoned Van Der Vaart and rushed up, Qin Xiong raised his foot!
Sweat slid down his cheeks, and his eyes were calm and determined. Qin Xiong exuded a cold and crazy aura!
After a series of passes and dribbles, his right leg swung, and it looked like he was going to shoot!
Juanfran slid to block the angle of the direct shot, and Sergio also moved to the front of Qin Xiong's shot, trying to block it with his body!
The moment Qin Xiong's leg fell and his foot touched the football.
All the Selta players who were defending felt like they were struck by lightning. They could not believe it!
Pass!
Qin Xiong, who had made a horizontal cut from the side into the middle with a monstrous momentum, had actually passed the ball as if it was light!
What's more, this pass was too unexpected!
It was not for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, nor for Van Der Vaart.
It was not for Pienaar, who rushed up without anyone marking him.
Instead, it was a reverse pass!
Qin Xiong cut from the left side into the middle, and now, he passed the ball back to the front left. In the process of driving the opponent to defend, it caused the opponent to turn his gaze back to the left. This was an impact on the opponent's thinking!
A diagonal pass was sent out. Qin Xiong's eyes were still locked on the football, but his body instinctively began to dodge. Berizzo was taking a foul from behind him, intending to fiercely knock him to the ground.
The football, which was passed in the reverse direction, rolled to the left side of the penalty area. Carvalero was shocked, and he quickly rushed from the right side of the goal to the left side. However, it was too late!
A red and white figure rushed to a position 10 yards in front of the goal, and the football, which had rolled there, was directly shot into the almost empty goal with the arch of his foot!
After the goal, the man turned his head to look at Qin Xiong with a calm expression. He was Snede, Qin Xiong's best friend at Ajax.
Qin Xiong still owed him a meal for his friend.
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