Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Qin Xiong and Henry engaged in a head-to-head confrontation. Henry took the initiative, while Qin Xiong was passive.
In fact, Van Der Vaart and Qin Xiong teamed up to form a two-pronged situation on Henry, but Van Der Vaart's defensive contribution was really not complimentary. It looked like Van Der Vaart ran back to defend Henry, but that was only limited to "looking."
Qin Xiong's defense was facing a severe test.
On the one hand, Henry's individual ability was superb.
On the other hand, his position was very disadvantageous for defense. Henry could go outside, he could go in the middle, and he could also pass the ball. Qin Xiong could not freeze Henry in all directions.
When the King of Shots made a move to the right in front of Qin Xiong, Qin Xiong immediately followed and shifted his center of gravity.
But Henry's next move was to use the inside of his foot to kick the ball back, and there was a slight change in the rhythm.
Qin Xiong also immediately moved back to his original position. In this lightning-quick showdown, Qin Xiong had just returned to his position, and his heart was already shocked: he lost!
Because Henry's next move was still to kick the ball to the right, but it was obviously faster!
Qin Xiong was no stranger to this kind of passing method. The rhythm was bad!
The dribbling method was simple and unpretentious. The key was to stick the ball under the foot, and with the change in rhythm, suddenly accelerate to pass the opponent.
Qin Xiong could pass anyone like this, but it did not mean that when others used this method to pass him, he could keep up.
After all, offense and defense were two different kinds of football skills.
Henry was too fast!
In the Netherlands, Qin Xiong could really feel this kind of player who could combine with the ball and still be so fast was only Robben. But in defense of Robben, Qin Xiong was never the first person to defend against Robben head-on. He would wait for the opportunity to not make a second interception or cover for his teammates.
In Europe, among all the opponents that Qin Xiong had faced, there was only one person who could make him feel the pressure of speed in the midfield area: Kaka.
With Kaka's style of taking big strides, as long as Qin Xiong was behind Kaka, he would never be able to catch up with Kaka, and vice versa, Kaka would also not be able to catch up with Qin Xiong.
That kind of experience made Qin Xiong understand the importance of space restrictions for speed players.
Therefore, after being bypassed by Henry, Qin Xiong did not chase after Henry. He would never be able to catch up!
You can't predict which direction Henry will take with the ball next. You can't passively change your running route. In the pause and direction change, your running speed without the ball will be slowed down.
Qin Xiong immediately turned around and ran towards the front of his own team's penalty area!
Pienaar tried to snipe Henry in front of Galasek, but Henry, who was as fast as lightning, passed the ball to Bergkamp.
The artistic football master, Bergkamp, also played the football with the grace of lifting heavy weights. He kicked the ball and passed it behind Pienaar. Henry, who didn't stop, regained control of the football and continued to move forward.
Galasek didn't dare to rush forward to snatch the ball. He retreated to a position 30 yards away from the goal. He observed that a teammate had appeared beside him: Qin Xiong.
Qin Xiong's appearance was out of Henry's expectations. It was a scene that often appeared in the competition.
In a typical match, an opponent who had been bypassed would not appear in front of him again in a one-on-one attack.
But just as he and Bergkamp were doing a two-on-one, Qin Xiong returned to the front of the penalty area and once again defended against Henry head-on.
In front of Henry, there was Ajax's six-man two-line defensive system.
Ajax was on standby!
Henry didn't try to break through again. That kind of success rate was too low.
Qin Xiong, Galasek, Heitinga, and Eskuder. It was just that the four players' positioning was very reasonable and they could form a joint defense effect with each other.
Henry chose to kick a long shot.
It was an unexpected long shot.
The football shuttled past Qin Xiong's shoulder a meter away from him. He was shocked and turned his head to look. His heart was set.
Fortunately, the angle was not very good.
Intensely focused, Lobonte moved a little and then held the ball firmly in his arms.
In this game, Ajax's entire team quickly got into the game state.
They ran actively, paid attention to the development of the overall situation, and ran in appropriate positions. Ajax quickly began the midfield pass and cut play that they were good at.
But Qin Xiong was in trouble.
He found that Arsenal did not pay attention to the counterpressing and interception in the middle and front field. They were a bit like AC Milan, who he had played against before, in a tight defensive formation in the middle and back field.
Ajax, under Qin Xiong's command in the midfield, passed the ball very smoothly in the area 40 yards away from the goal.
But it was harder to create opportunities in the dangerous area than to reach the sky.
Arsenal first played defense and counterattack tactically. Secondly, the defensive strength of the players was obvious to all. The team chemistry after forming a joint defense sublimated their defensive strength.
Qin Xiong tried to break through in the middle to create a breakthrough and tear apart the opponent's defensive line.
As a result, when he bravely challenged Vieira, he was doused with cold water.
Qin Xiong did not have to worry about the back. Bergkamp was almost 35 years old. In such a game, Bergkamp needed to distribute his stamina well. Arsenal needed him to over-organize in the attacking midfielder area, so the defense in the middle was deliberately delayed because only two defensive defensive midfielders were really fighting to intercept.
Looking at the tall and strong Vieira, Qin Xiong thought that his speed should be a clear advantage.
After all, the general player's figure and speed had a correlation effect.
In fact, Vieira's speed was definitely not as fast as Qin Xiong.
When Qin Xiong passed the ball by Vieira and accelerated to break through at the same time, Qin Xiong thought he was going to win!
He was almost parallel to Vieira's position, and Vieira had not completely turned around.
However, Vieira's long legs took a step when he was about to complete his turn. That step directly put his body in front of Qin Xiong.
Because there was the Brazilian defensive midfielder, Silva, not far from Vieira, Qin Xiong did not dare to pass the ball too far for fear of losing it. So, he passed the ball faster and the football was not too far away from his body, so that he could immediately regain control of the football after passing Vieira.
But it was also because the ball was not too far away that after Vieira blocked Qin Xiong, it looked like Vieira's defense was successful. Even if he did not touch the ball, he was already in the range of controlling the ball.
Qin Xiong's acceleration, coupled with Vieira's intentional use of his body to block and resist, caused Qin Xiong to suddenly lose his balance and fall to the ground.
Vieira noticed Qin Xiong's fall and was disdainful, thinking that the kid deliberately fell to win a favorable penalty.
But after he took control of the football, he saw Qin Xiong quickly get up without changing his expression, stand in front of him, and actively counterattack.
Vieira dispelled his previous thoughts. Qin Xiong was honest and worthy of an opponent who deserved the respect he deserved.
He did not go to Qin Xiong and directly passed the ball to the flank. Ashley Cole went over to the side and quickly dribbled the ball forward to launch a counterattack.
After Vieira passed the ball, Qin Xiong immediately dashed to the backfield to defend!
Arsenal mainly focused on quick attacks from the flank. Once Ashley Cole went over to the side to press up, it would determine that Arsenal's offensive threat would rise sharply!
At the beginning of the game, both teams focused on defense. Ashley Cole had become an indispensable chess piece in Arsenal's offense. He was decisive in his delivery of the ball and had a tacit understanding with his teammates.
Just as the ball crossed half of the field, Ashley Cole made a wide-ranging pass and sent it out.
Although Bergkamp was nominally the starting forward, he was more active in the attacking midfielder area to deliver the cannonballs to Henry. Although his defensive ability was not very strong, the key was that his ability to handle the ball was too strong.
And that could definitely bring about a direct threat.
Ashley Cole's cross pass looked extremely fast, and it would not be easy to stop it.
But the moment Bergkamp stretched out his foot to make contact with the falling football, the rapid speed of the ball had a positive effect, as if it had stuck to the surface of Bergkamp's foot. Then, he calmly unloaded the ball and sent it out diagonally on the spot to Pires, who had cut inside on the flank.
This wave of offense was fast, simple, and effective. It was Arsenal's most obvious style during this period. Passing, running, cutting, and tearing apart the opponent's defensive line was extremely effective.
Pires cut inside to receive Bergkamp's pass. Grygera followed like a shadow and blocked the inside line to block Pires outside the penalty area.
Pires skillfully and confidently controlled the ball to pull back and swing out of the angle. No longer hesitating, he decisively passed the ball across. He noticed that Haitinga was wary of him cutting inside and moved over. The middle of the defensive line was wide open!
One Escudo was bound to be unable to defend against Henry.
Henry plugged in front of the middle and cooperated with Pires very well.
Seeing that if Henry touched the ball, he would either shoot directly or single-handedly. At the critical moment, the veteran Galasek, who had retreated to the penalty area to make up for his position, charged out diagonally and shoveled the ball out of the end line in front of Henry!
In order to dodge, Henry leaped over Galasek, who had fallen to the ground to slide. Then he slowed down and turned his head to look at Pires without changing his expression.
Although the attack did not succeed, the effect of the cooperation had been seen. If they continued to persevere, Arsenal's generals firmly believed that they could knock down Ajax's city gate.
When Qin Xiong returned to the penalty area to defend for the corner kick, he was almost certain of one thing: it would be difficult to shake Arsenal with an attack in the middle. They could only make a fuss on the flank.
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