When Ajax and Arsenal got through the initial stage of stabilizing their defense, both sides began to burst forth with the offensive routines that they were good at.
Even though Ajax was at home and had the geographical advantage, Arsenal focused on defense and counterattack. When they were playing fast attacks, once Ajax sent reinforcements to the front field, their offensive threat would be the first to break out!
In the 27th minute, Ashley Cole once again pressed forward with the fullback. This time, he switched positions with Pires on the left flank.
After a two-versus-one combination, Ashley Cole cut into the inside line. This combination surprised Qin Xiong.
In European football, the fullback had long been the most flexible and changeable point for managers to deploy their troops.
Adhering to the rules, the fullback was literally the wing back, focusing on defense.
But in most powerhouse teams, the fullback must have a good ability to assist. In other words, when the fullback participated in the attack, he would at some point become a side midfielder or a winger, such as AC Milan's Kaladze, Ajax's Maxwell, the Brazilian national team's Double Carmichael, and so on.
And in the more brilliant use of the fullback, the fullback could make a long-distance raid and cut into the inside of the penalty area to become a striker, commonly known as a "change-of-pace." Because the fullback could be flexible and changeable, it was difficult to maintain stability in the constant changes. Therefore, in today's European football, the top fullback was priceless. Even if you had the money, you might not be able to buy one. Fullbacks who could be a fullback, a side midfielder, a winger, or a change-of-pace were very rare.
Ashley Cole's brilliant performance this season was inseparable from Wenger's training. It was also because Pires, a player with the ability to play as an attacking midfielder, played on the flank, providing more ability to coordinate. This allowed Ashley Cole to get the selfless support of his teammates when he cut into the penalty area. If it were a classical winger, he would rarely pass the ball to a fullback when he received the ball on the flank in front of the field.
Arsenal's incisive attacks on the left flank gave Ajax's defensive line a headache.
The key point was that Arsenal had hidden their attack point.
Whether it was the defenders or the defensive midfielders, most of their attention was placed on the opponent's striker. In such a top-notch match, it was already difficult enough to defend against Henry. If Bergkamp were to move forward, the pressure would multiply. Pirès and Ljungberg's ability to cut inside and position themselves was incomparably fearsome. Vieira's ability to plug in from the back was also not to be underestimated. Coupled with the unpredictable and powerful Ashley Cole, how could Ajax not be surprised and flustered?
Ashley Cole's cut inside the penalty area created a deep attack and restrained Ajax's defensive line from retreating in a wide area. Grygera was attracted by Pires. Ashley Cole faced Heitinga's defense in the penalty area and did not force it. He directly passed the ball back to the top of the triangle arc.
At this time, Qin Xiong and Galasek were guarding against Harry.
The agile Henry occupied an advantageous position. Qin Xiong had no choice but to give up intercepting and take a frontal defensive position.
But when the football rolled towards Henry, Qin Xiong was also a little surprised.
Henry chose to miss the ball!
He did not look behind him. He cut straight ahead and brushed past Qin Xiong.
Qin Xiong knew that if he turned around to chase Henry, he would lose the opportunity to defend against Henry.
So, he paid attention to the rolling trajectory of the football and then quickly observed Henry's running trajectory. He blocked and blocked his teammate's route for Henry to pass the ball directly!
Bergkamp controlled the ball three meters in front of Galasek. He originally wanted to directly pass the ball to Henry. If he could succeed, this attack could be called quicksilver.
But he found that Qin Xiong blocked his passing route, so he could only change his mind and directly shoot a long shot!
The Ice Prince's long shot hit the bullseye. Lobonte fell to the ground and pounced. Although the ball slipped out of his hands, fortunately, Henry was not nearby. Ljungberg's follow-up was also a step slower. Lobonte got up again and picked the ball up from the ground and held it in his arms.
Arsenal began to show bloody fangs, and Ajax was not to be outdone.
Qin Xiong knew that he could not rush to the middle. Vieira and Silva's defense was extremely strong and efficient.
In the 32nd minute of the fast attack, Pienaar restrained the opponent's two defensive midfielders in the middle. Qin Xiong took the initiative to move to the left side and formed a triangle attack system with Maxwell and Snede. The three skillfully and tacitly carried out the triangle pass. Qin Xiong pressed forward to the left side in front of the penalty area, and Vieira came to assist in the defense. He did not frantically press for the ball, but guarded against Qin Xiong dribbling the ball to cut inside. Unexpectedly, Ajax, who was preparing for an attack on the left side, was decisively shifted by Qin Xiong's long pass to the right side.
Van Der Vaart stopped the ball on the right side outside the penalty area. When Arsenal's defensive focus shifted, he did not hesitate to send a diagonal pass to Ibrahimovic.
In order to ensure that Ibrahimovic could get the ball, the position of the pass reduced the angle of Ibrahimovic's shot. Ibrahimovic followed the rolling trajectory of the football, resisted Touré, and half-turned to directly volley!
Unfortunately, the angle was still too small, and his volley hit the side netting.
Wenger was calm and composed on the sidelines, but Comain's brows were tightly knitted.
A delicate balance appeared on the field.
This balance was because both teams were using fast attacks, and they were mainly attacking from the flanks.
Ajax and Arsenal were both able to create opportunities to shoot.
But it was not an excellent opportunity to attack.
It was just that under this balance, Ajax was hiding a crisis.
When Qin Xiong came up to assist, Ajax had to be supported by the full backs to be able to effectively attack from the flanks. Otherwise, they did not have enough troops, and it would be difficult to tear apart Arsenal's defensive line.
But Arsenal mostly attacked from the middle of the backfield. They did not need to invest more troops to be able to create a threatening attack.
Comain was worried that if Ajax's fast attacks were intercepted by Arsenal in the middle of the backfield, and then turned around to attack, Ajax's backfield defense would appear empty.
Whatever he was afraid of, it would happen.
In the 41st minute of the game, Qin Xiong came to the front of the field and moved around the flanks, sending a straight pass to Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic did not immediately raise his leg. He wanted to adjust and try to get a better angle to shoot in front of Kanber, but he neglected Silva's defense behind him. The ball at his feet was destroyed by Silva, and directly stabbed to Lehmann.
Arsenal's goalkeeper, Lehmann, passed the ball diagonally to Lauren, who diagonally passed to Vieira. At this time, Vieira diagonally passed to the other flank, and Ashley Cole rushed forward as fast as lightning.
Arsenal's whirlwind attack from the flank was on display again!
Qin Xiong risked his life to run to the backfield, but Arsenal's passing coordination was very fast. This time, his starting position was not good. He was already too deep into the enemy's territory, and the distance to defend was too far.
Ashley Cole crossed the midfield and cut inside. Pienaar retreated and was defeated by Ashley Cole and Bergkamp's one-two pass. Ashley Cole passed straight to the empty space in the flank of the penalty area, and Pires, who was diagonally inserted in the space between the center back and the full back, did not stop the ball and sent the ball back to the middle.
Henry got the ball in front of the penalty area, and he already had an angle to shoot. Galasek came to help defend, and Henry pulled the ball back and cut in the opposite direction, shaking off Galasek.
In the right position in front of the penalty area in the middle, Henry's vision was slightly open. Other than the center back, Eskuder, there was only the goal and the goalkeeper, Lobonte.
Henry raised his leg!
A shot was blasted out, and the football with a strong rotation drew an inward spiral arc in the sky. Lobonte pounced to the extreme, but his fingertips could not touch the football. The ball fell into the top right corner of the goal, a dead corner!
"Thierry Henry! Henry scored a wonderful goal. He received Pires' pass outside the penalty area, calmly bypassed Galasek, and then poked the ball to the front right. Then, without any interference, he shot a curveball. The football went straight to the dead corner of the goal, and it was very pleasing to the eye! Arsenal leads Ajax 1: 0 in the away game! "
Henry, the King of Shots, swung his arms and nodded as he ran backward on the sidelines. His eyes looked at each of his teammates. Although he was not the captain of the team, he was the key figure that the team relied on as the core of the attack.
His teammates rushed up to surround Henry in front of the visiting team's stands, and they celebrated the goal together.
Henry's goal was like a heavy punch to the hearts of the Ajax people, making them depressed and unable to breathe.
Wenger clenched his fists and waved, and then applauded his disciples.
Qin Xiong walked to the backfield with a solemn face.
The power of Arsenal's counterattack could not be underestimated.
Not only was Ajax unable to attack the middle, but even if they played on the wings, it seemed that they could not launch an attack on the left flank. Lauren's defense was very stable, and he did not plug in as frequently as Ashley Cole to assist.
What troubled Qin Xiong the most was to guard against Arsenal's fast attacks. If one of their side's full backs and midfielders were not in the defensive zone, the backfield would be too empty. The opponent could push the attack into Ajax's hinterland like lightning and smoothly pass and cut, and the probability of creating a fatal threat would be greatly increased.
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