The game between Ajax and Chelsea began to show a clear gap.
Relying on the team's richer and more advanced techniques and tactics, Ajax's advantage became more and more obvious.
Although Chelsea was strong on paper, they had not completely broken away from the traditional British style of play under Ranieri's leadership. Their attacks were too predictable and lacked unexpected changes, which allowed Ajax to not panic in defense.
However, Chelsea's individual strength was still strong, and they were able to play a threatening offensive in the inevitable one-on-one.
In the 36th minute of the game, Duff passed from the left and Hazel Bank crossed the ball. Crespo swayed out of the angle in front of Eskuder and pushed the shot out of the goal.
Three minutes later, Crespo passed the ball to Lampard after he controlled the ball on the outside. The latter directly shot a long shot that almost penetrated the goal guarded by Lobonte.
Seeing that the first half was coming to an end, Ajax had no intention of slowing down the pace.
In the 43rd minute of the game, Galasek sent the ball out from the backfield. Qin Xiong directly passed the ball to Lampard in the midfield area with his back to him. Grygera set up the attack on the flank.
Qin Xiong ran forward along the middle. Grygera's pressure forced Lampard to help defend the flank, which gave Qin Xiong more space to get the ball in the middle.
Grygera passed the ball to Qin Xiong. Without waiting for Makelele to snatch it, Qin Xiong suddenly lifted his foot and sent it out diagonally to the left side of the penalty area.
Snede bypassed Melchiot and cut into the bottom of the penalty area. He did not stop the ball in front of the end line and swept the ball directly to the middle of the goal.
He passed the ball with great force, like a shot.
Ibrahimovic, who followed up in the middle, could not touch the football under Terry's close harassment. Even the goalkeeper, Cudicini, could not touch the football.
At the back, Bridge had been shaken off by Van Der Vaart. Although Gallas tried his best to block the back of the goal, Van Der Vaart still kicked the ball into the empty goal with his left foot at the back post.
The Ajax fans went crazy with excitement!
The players on the field quickly ran to Van Der Vaart's side. They hugged each other and shouted at each other to celebrate their second goal!
"Van Der Vaart has increased Ajax's lead! Before the end of the first half, Chelsea was hit hard again, and now they were behind by two goals! Manager Ranieri should think of a way. Compared with Chelsea's and Ajax's offense in the front field, Chelsea seems to be the same, while Ajax appears to be changing. No matter what defensive formation Chelsea puts out, Qin Xiong can always connect with his teammates. Their cooperation in passing and running is too tacit! "
Ranieri was like a candle in the wind, lonely and helpless.
According to his experience, there was no doubt that Chelsea lost to Ajax as a whole.
Lampard could not be blamed for not being as creative as Qin Xiong. They were not the same type of players. In terms of organizational talent, in just 45 minutes of the game, Qin Xiong's threat delivery data had beaten Lampard!
They played differently, their team styles were different, and even their mentalities were different.
There was no comparison.
There was no need to make meaningless comparisons.
Chelsea's technical and tactical style could not be compared to the Dutch giants, the ancestors of offensive football!
When De Jong and Galasek became the solid and unbreakable barrier in front of the rear defensive line, when they also had the wild and passionate power to compete, Chelsea had the characteristic power impact in England. In front of Ajax, they could not create any situation that made them panic!
Abramovich's face finally became ugly in the VIP box.
The scene presented in front of him was clear at a glance. Which team was more beautiful between the two teams? There was no doubt that it was Ajax.
Who was in the lead?
This was not a question at all. Look at the big screen and look at the fans celebrating wildly in the stadium.
His dream master, after a huge investment in the summer, looked worse than Ajax, who was developing steadily step by step!
At the end of the first half of the game, Ajax led Chelsea by 2: 0.
Qin Xiong and his teammates high-fived before they came off the field. They did not look at the Chelsea players again. They still walked to the players' tunnel with their heads held high.
The Chelsea players were a little confused.
They did not expect Ajax to be so strong!
Ranieri should understand the reason.
Chelsea's Champions League journey this season was too smooth.
They did not experience much of a test in the group stage.
Sparta Prague, Vegektas, and Lazio, which was almost dismembered due to financial difficulties.
They met Germany's VfB Stuttgart in the knockout stage.
Had Chelsea really played against a powerhouse or a championship-level team?
No!
Chelsea's European experience was too little!
Although Ajax was young, most of Ajax's main players, including the manager, Comain, had at least played two stages of the group stage last season and reached the Champions League quarter-finals!
This lack of experience did not come from pressure.
It was a restriction on teams with different styles of football.
Ajax represented the style of Dutch football, offensive football!
It was very different from the traditional style of play in England.
They were more creative, paid more attention to the ground passing and cutting, and focused more on team cooperation. There were a variety of ways to advance the offense, and it was by no means a simple and crude bombardment!
In such a situation, Chelsea's ability to adapt was insufficient. Makelele was experienced, but he was only one person after all. He had the confidence to restrict Qin Xiong one-on-one, but he could not restrict Ajax's entire attack group!
Perhaps no one knew that this Ajax team, which was almost in a state of disintegration in the summer, had stood up strong after stumbling all the way and suffering setbacks.
In the sprinting stage at the end of the season, they could concentrate on the Champions League and had reached their strongest state!
During the halftime interval, Comain praised the team's performance and ordered the team to firmly continue the way they played in the first half in the second half.
No Ajax players doubted that their tactical play was wrong. The advantage of the game and the gap in the score proved that their efforts were correct.
In the second half, the two sides changed sides again. Chelsea took the stance of fighting with their backs to the wall. The British team's pressing that challenged fouls was brought out again, and it looked more ferocious and rough.
When Ajax quickly launched the offensive to continue their advantage in the first half, an accident happened.
Snede was fouled by Melchiot when he stopped the ball. He twisted his ankle in order to avoid the opponent's pressing. Although he said it was not serious, he could not continue the game.
"Ajax is in a little trouble. Melchiot paid the price of a yellow card to send Snede off. Comain's expression looked a little heavy. He knows Ajax's offensive side. The front line has a trident and Qin Xiong. Without any of these four players, the team's offensive effect will be greatly reduced. Now, he can only let Pinard warm up."
Two minutes later, Pinard came on to replace Snede.
He was going to play as the left winger.
He had the ability to play the position. The problem was that in an offensive system, he had never been fixed in the left winger position with his teammates.
His individual performance should not be a big problem. The key was the tacit understanding, which might be affected.
Qin Xiong had to slow down the pace slightly to give Pinard time to adapt to the game.
Originally, the attacking team had few people in the front field. If one person could actively integrate into the team, the effect would not be ideal.
In the 61st minute, Qin Xiong began to cooperate with Pinard more frequently to help him get into the game.
At first glance, Pinard's performance was not bad.
He completed two long shots from outside the penalty area in succession. One of the long shots tested Cudicini.
However, in the 67th minute of the game, he took the initiative to switch positions with Qin Xiong and made a fatal mistake!
After the switch, he hoped to let Qin Xiong run to form a cover, then he would pass the ball to the right side to find Van Der Vaart and quickly switch to the offense.
However, Lampard ran to follow Qin Xiong. Makelele did not fall for that trick at all. He decisively and bravely snatched the ball. His footwork was precise, and he directly made Pienaar lose his balance in his panic to protect the ball. Makelele successfully intercepted the ball!
The French defensive midfielder dribbled the ball directly to the front field like a general. After crossing half the field, he directly passed the ball to Gelunxiaer on the flank.
When Gelunxiaer kicked the ball at lightning speed on the right flank, the audience in front of the television seemed to see the field move back because the Danish Golden Wings were astonishingly fast!
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