Four wins.
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Monaco, who scored 22 goals in 10 games in the Champions League group stage and the knockout stages this season, definitely lived up to their reputation for offensive firepower.
From the extreme oppressive attacks at the start of the game, they repeatedly attacked Ajax's defensive line.
Morientes was a player that Ajax had to keep an eye on, but he was definitely not Monaco's only scoring point. Of the 22 goals, Morientes was responsible for 40%. Who was responsible for the other 60%?
More blossoms!
And Morientes's role in covering for the wingers in the front line was unusually obvious. He not only restrained Ajax's two center backs from acting rashly, but he also put on a threatening run and ball control from time to time to get rid of them.
What gave Ajax the biggest headache was that Derong and Galasek had to help defend the flank of the penalty area to prevent Roten and Giuliani from cutting inside. If they cut inside, it would be difficult to rely on Grygera and Maxwell to follow and defend.
Even Qin Xiong wouldn't be able to handle it.
Monaco's momentum was too strong!
The three midfielders did not seem to have a very clear division of labor.
Cisse, Bernardi, and Kierce could attack and defend. They took turns to go forward. It was impossible to guess who would suddenly cut forward during the attack, and who would link up to attack.
This was the power that erupted when Monaco's radical and wild midfield roles changed.
It was similar to Ajax's offense. Ajax was the attacking midfielder and the players in the trident, except for the center forward, switched roles and positions back and forth.
Monaco's front line was basically unchanged, but the midfielders took turns to go forward. The changes in offensive and defensive roles made one's scalp tingle. It was impossible to firmly and accurately follow and defend the right target.
Qin Xiong knew that to restrict Monaco's style of play, they had to guard against counterattacks. As long as more troops were guarding the dangerous areas, no matter how the opposing midfielders changed, Ajax would be able to deal with them calmly when they cut forward into the dangerous areas.
But Comain's tactical requirements were not like this. He wanted Ajax to attack the opponent!
They wanted to catch their opponents off guard in an away game.
In the 16th minute of the match, Qin Xiong blocked in front of Kierkes as he dribbled the ball forward in the middle. However, Cesar and Bernardi were moving forward from both sides. Qin Xiong did not dare to make a judgment easily. When Bernardi took a step forward, Qin Xiong thought that Bernardi would be the one to cut forward in the end. He did not expect Cesar, who started later, to quickly cut forward from the other side. Qin Xiong made a wrong judgment!
Cisse passed the ball straight to the flank of the penalty area before Galasek could defend. The lightning-quick Giuly went around the outside and received the pass in front of the ground line.
Giuly took a step towards the goal along the end line before decisively passing the ball diagonally to Morientes, who had suddenly retreated after pretending to cut forward.
The Spanish top center forward's awareness in the penalty area was too good. It was no exaggeration to say that he was the best penalty area killer Ajax had ever encountered. Of course, Henry was also world-class. However, Henry had a wide range of movement and was fast. Morientes was the center forward who posed the greatest threat in the penalty area in the true sense of the word!
His tendency to cut forward made Eskud have to follow closely, and his retreating made Eskud have to stop. When Eskud took a step forward to snatch the ball, Qin Xiong was less than five meters away from Morientes. He had an ominous feeling in his heart.
Morientes's sense of rhythm was too good!
His rhythm paused. After receiving Giuly's pass and facing Eskud's snatch, Morientes already had the advantage in the beginning.
Sure enough!
Morientes and Eskud confronted each other head-on. After some distance, he deliberately dribbled the ball past Eskud. When Eskud realized it, it was already too late.
Morientes directly shot the ball from the right side of the penalty spot at the bottom left corner of the goal. Lobonte had no way to save it.
"Morientes opens the scoring for Monaco! Why? Why did Real Madrid give up on such a world-class center forward? Perhaps it was just like what many Real Madrid fans said when they accused the club's top management of making a wrong decision: retribution! Everything was retribution! They should not have given up on Morientes for the flashy Galactica! Monaco was too lucky. Their most successful transfer of the season was only a loan. At the lowest price, they got a goal machine in exchange! Morientes was now the number one scorer in the Champions League! Deschamps' team burst out with shocking passion at home! They constantly attacked Ajax's defensive line, causing the defenders to panic. When they kept running back and forth to make up for the holes in the defensive line, they made mistakes! It was time to test Ajax. How could they turn the situation around? Up until now, we haven't seen an effective and sharp attack from Jax. Qin Xiong's offense in the middle wasn't effective; he was blocked by too many players, and there wasn't enough space for him to pass the ball. Evra and Ybara would fight with Sneijder and Van der Vaart, and it seemed like Qin Xiong was isolated. Deschamps' tactics in the middle of the field were successful; the three midfielders who were good at both offense and defense took turns to bombard Jax.
While Morientes and his teammates were celebrating wildly in the stadium, Qin Xiong stood in place with his hands on his hips.
He did not expect the situation at the beginning of the game.
Moreover, the complexity of the game was that offense and defense always had a linked effect.
When Ajax's offense could not pose a threat, he could not suppress Monaco's offense and force the opponent to increase their investment in defense. In this way, his team's defense would encounter more challenges.
The offense in the middle was not ideal. Even if he broke through in the middle, it was meaningless. The cooperation of the three midfielders could not be said to be flawless, but at the very least, their joint defense cooperation was in place.
They would not rush up one by one and be broken through by Qin Xiong. They would keep a good distance and entangle Qin Xiong. If they could not intercept the ball at his feet, it would become countless times of chasing and intercepting him.
Qin Xiong could not change the tactics formulated by Comain. The team still had to attack.
Then, the offense in the middle could not break the situation. Qin Xiong gritted his teeth.
Don't attack in the middle!
After the restart of the game, Monaco's morale was high. Leading by one goal was nothing. A passionate team like them probably did not know what it meant to stop when they were ahead, nor did they know how to change from attacking wildly to controlling when they were ahead. They believed in completely destroying the opponent!
Deschamps grinned on the sidelines. He firmly believed that his team would crush the young Ajax. In one attack after another, they would crush their confidence and tear their dreams to shreds!
Qin Xiong was still very far back. He had to assist in the defense to contain Monaco's passionate offense as much as possible.
In the 21st minute of the game, Maxwell struggled to entangle Giuly. After Galasek helped in the defense, he intercepted the football controlled by Giuly. Qin Xiong immediately began to move to the side!
His movement stunned the three Monaco midfielders. They were very surprised.
They had originally planned to directly set up a tight defensive line in the middle of the front field to stifle Ajax's quick attacks.
But after Qin Xiong was pulled to the side, even though the side itself was a defensive line, he suddenly accelerated forward after receiving Galasek's pass. He could first get rid of a possible sexual harassment from a defensive player.
Kierkes!
Kierkes was not fast!
If he was in the middle, Qin Xiong could not bypass him. But Qin Xiong went to the side and raised his speed to dribble forward. Kierkes could not run to the side. If he ran, he would only be left further and further behind by Qin Xiong.
Cisse and Bernardi were faster, but the two could not rush to the side. Although Galasek was a defensive midfielder, he would also cross the half of the field to provide support when attacking forward.
So, at least one fast player had to be left in the middle to retreat to defend!
Cisse assisted in defending the side, while Bernardi and Kierkes retreated along the middle to defend.
When Cisse came to the side to prepare to defend against Qin Xiong, Qin Xiong had already dribbled the ball across the midfield from the side.
The situation in the front field was clear.
Qin Xiong and Snede were closer to each other.
Two Ajax players faced the defense of two Monaco players.
Cisse and Ibarra worked together to block Qin Xiong and Snede.
On the side of the front field, Qin Xiong passed the ball directly to Snede. Cisse and Ibarra immediately rushed to Snede, who passed the ball back to Qin Xiong. After the pass, Snede immediately moved forward along the side.
His running position made Ibarra and Cisse subconsciously follow him closely, worried that Qin Xiong would pass the ball behind him.
But Qin Xiong controlled the ball in place and did not pass the ball at all.
He flicked the ball horizontally and then directly sent out a diagonal pass to the ground!
He passed the ball to the right in front of the penalty area and did not penetrate Monaco's defensive line.
Van Der Vaart, who cut across the middle from the other side, received Qin Xiong's pass in front of the penalty area. The Dutch golden boy suddenly made Ajax's offense full of threat!
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