The Dutch media did not overly criticize Ajax in the battle report released the next day. Many football commentators even praised Ajax's performance.
At least in terms of the situation, Ajax and Arsenal were evenly matched. No one had an absolute advantage, and Ajax's youth could not be ignored. It was commendable to equalize the score in a difficult situation when they were behind.
From that day onwards, Ajax's entire team began a new technical and tactical system training.
Pienaar was removed from the main lineup, but it did not mean that he was abandoned. It was just that the team really could not put a fifth offensive player in the front field. Of course, Pienaar would return to the main lineup when facing a weak opponent. Now, he would be the substitute for the offensive players in the front field, other than Ibrahimovic.
Qin Xiong's position was based on the premise that he could take off 80% of the defensive duties. Behind him, there was Galasek and De Jong to protect him. This further increased the demands on him because the closer he was to the attacking midfielder area, the more difficult it was for him to organize an attack because he was very close to the opponent's dense defensive area.
Ajax had a huge lead in the league. They were able to adjust their physical distribution more loosely when the crucial battle of the Champions League knockout stage arrived.
Comain put most of the main players on the substitutes' bench for the game against FC Utrecht on the weekend to relieve their fatigue from the Champions League game in the middle of the week.
Ajax failed to take down FC Utrecht and were forced to a 1: 1 draw in the away game.
This should have given PSV Eindhoven a chance to shorten the gap in the league, but unexpectedly, PSV Eindhoven lost to Roda JC at home in the 23rd round after losing to Heerenveen in the last round. They suffered two consecutive defeats and were 12 points behind Ajax!
"International Football" published a special report after the 23rd round of the Eredivisie. The title was: Congratulations to Ajax for winning the league title this season!
This was a title full of irony for PSV Eindhoven. The article criticized Guus Hiddink's team for not seizing the opportunity. Originally, they could have shortened the gap with Ajax to six points in these two rounds of the league tournament. In the end, it became 12 points. With 11 rounds left in the league tournament, PSV Eindhoven made the Eredivisie lose its suspense.
They could not ask Ajax to be careless and underestimate the enemy to keep losing points. They could only blame PSV Eindhoven for not seizing the opportunity. They did not have the temperament of a defending champion who would defend the title to the death and would not give up until the end.
Ajax's training went on as planned. In March, Comain brought out a brand new 4-3-3 lineup in a league match before heading to England.
Ajax's opponent wasn't strong. It was Valvik. Although it was a guest match, Ajax was still able to secure victory in the first 60 minutes.
Qin Xiong scored twice in the game. The center forward, Ibrahimovic, sacrificed himself and was willing to do all the work for him. The purpose was to practice how to play against Arsenal.
Ajax returned triumphant in the away game with a score of 4: 0. Then the whole team was ready to go. Two days later, they boarded the plane to London, England.
On the night of March 9th, Ajax arrived in London!
Qin Xiong got off the plane with his travel bag and breathed in the humid air of England. He tidied up the baseball cap on his head. It was given to him by George. He felt that it looked good wearing it, so he also wore it when he went out.
Ajax went to stay in a hotel in the city in a low-key manner. The players consciously rested in their rooms.
The day before the game, they went to Highbury for training.
Highbury was not big. At least the unique shape of the stadium in England made the interior of the stadium look more compact. Their fans' stands were always close to the sidelines of the stadium.
This allowed the fanatical cheers of the fans to reach the ears of the players more clearly, maximizing the effect of the home field.
Highbury's turf was slightly wider, but it was not much worse than Ajax's home turf. Arsenal focused on counterattacks from the flanks, combining the sides and the center to pass and cut. The width of the pitch was very important. Sometimes, even though it was only two or three meters wider than an ordinary pitch, the effect on the pitch was very different.
After the adaptive training before the game, Ajax's arrival in England did not cause any ripples.
Even in the pre-game press conference, the words of the two managers were low-key and did not create any hot topics.
In the quiet preparation and anticipation, Arsenal and Ajax met again at Highbury!
Comain once again emphasized the mentality of the game in the locker room before the game.
The score was 1: 1.
Ajax was at a disadvantage.
Under such circumstances, it was even more important for the players to stay calm and steady.
When Qin Xiong and his teammates lined up on the field, it was as if he had walked into a different world.
The unique fan culture of England rendered the whole stadium into a different kind of battlefield.
His loud and clear voice reverberated throughout the stadium, shocking everyone and stirring their hearts.
The scene of singing at the top of their lungs, praising the team and cheering for the team was a unique sight.
Even though Ajax's fans were unswervingly loyal to the team and silently supported the team, there was a difference in culture. It was difficult to achieve such a spectacular scene of cheering as the English team.
"In the second leg of the Champions League 18 finals, Arsenal will be at home against Ajax. The current score is 1: 1. Arsenal, who have the advantage of away goals, are back at home. Their probability of advancing is obviously higher than Ajax. The Daily Mail has made a prediction that the probability of Ajax advancing to the top eight is not more than 20%. Although it is certain that Fleet Street is confident that Arsenal will advance to the top eight, Arsenal extended their unbeaten record to 27 games a few days ago. They are definitely an opponent that the European powerhouses are very wary of. Although Ajax also has the potential to win the Eredivisie, the competitiveness of the Eredivisie and the English Premier League are obviously not the same.
Let's take a look at today's two starting lineups.
Arsenal's starting lineups are unchanged from the last game, still 4-4-2.
Goalkeeper: Lehmann.
Defenders: Lauren, Campbell, Touré, Ashley Cole.
Midfielders: Ljungberg, Silva, Vieira, Pires.
Forwards: Bergkamp, Henry.
Ajax's starting lineups are different from the last game, but their formation is unchanged, still 4-4-3.
Goalkeeper: Lobonte.
Defenders: Grygera, Heitinga, Escude, Maxwell.
Midfielders: De Jong, Galasek, Qin Xiong.
Forwards: Van Der Vaart, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Snede.
Well, the game is about to start. Let's wait and see which team will advance to the top eight of this season's Champions League after 90 or 120 minutes! "
Wenger, who was standing on the sidelines, frowned slightly when he saw Ajax's starting lineups.
If Ajax wants to advance, they must score in Highbury, they must!
But compared to the starting lineups in the last game, Ajax's lineups today were adjusted from the second half of the last game.
This obviously did not include Pienaar in the starting lineups, and it looked like the attacking power was strong, but Ajax did so.
This made Wenger a little confused.
But he put aside his worries and regained his confidence.
He firmly believed that Ajax would take the initiative to attack in order to score. As long as he attacked, Arsenal's counterattacks would have more space to play, and they would create more opportunities!
From the start of the game, Ajax played extremely conservatively and steadily.
Qin Xiong mostly used formulaic and stable passes in the midfield. In an away game, the team needed more time to get into the game state.
Even though Arsenal was at home, they were not aggressive. Sometimes, they were not like the English Premier League teams, who played big and high. Wenger injected in Arsenal, not only a delicate style, but also a rationality to suppress passion.
It was not known if it was because the score of 1: 1 made Arsenal think that victory was in their hands, but they did not use their familiarity with the stadium in the opening stages of the game to pressure their opponents with the cheering of the fans at home. They also did not want to get into the game faster and launch a blitzkrieg. They were as conservative as Ajax, focused on controlling the ball, and would not attack rashly without a good opportunity.
In fact, this was also related to Ajax's defensive system in this game.
Henry, Bergkamp, Pires, Ljungberg.
If there were no players in the midfield and backfield to plug in.
Ajax's four defenders and two defensive midfielders, plus the defense, Qin Xiong in front of the two defensive midfielders to cut off the opponent's front and backfield. Ajax's seven-man pyramid system cut off the opponent's attacking formation, and the defense was very tight.
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