The Estadio Schalke stadium was filled with thunderous cheers.
Even the FC Porto fans were standing in the stands in awe. They did not even have the time to feel disappointed for their team losing a goal, because they had just witnessed a superb goal that might become a classic.
A classic?
He was almost there.
Perhaps many Ajax fans, especially Qin Xiong fans, felt sorry for Qin Xiong's last shot. If not for Baya's god-like performance, Qin Xiong would have made a classic goal in the UEFA Champions League final.
Stepping on the bicycle, passing the ball, Marseille's spin, and the unexpected movement and path of the ball. That horizontal cut in front of the penalty area between the defenders and the midfield line was enough to dazzle the world.
"Ajax equalized the score! The scorer is their captain, Van Der Vaart! The Dutch genius scored a successful rebound shot in the penalty area and calmly shot the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal!
However, this goal had to be praised for Qin Xiong's performance.
He first used his heel to knock the ball back and pass it to Maxwell, who came up from the flank to assist. Then, he quickly ran forward and performed a simple but effective combination with Maxwell.
Qin Xiong shook off Deco, who had been defending him effectively in the first half. In front of Mendes, he pretended to shoot a long shot and passed Mendes with the ball. What a wonderful bypass!
Surprisingly, Qin Xiong did not advance straight into the penalty area to attack. Instead, he moved horizontally in front of the penalty area. Maniche's early tackle allowed Qin Xiong to complete the classic and elegant Marseille's spin bypass!
After moving from the left side of the penalty area to the right side of the penalty area, Qin Xiong had the space to raise his foot. Therefore, he did not hesitate and shot a heavy shot towards the bottom right corner of the goal. If Baya had not blocked it, this goal would have been perfect!
However, from the team's point of view, Qin Xiong created an opportunity for Van Der Vaart to shoot after Baya's save!
When we learned about Qin Xiong's style of play, many of the comments from the media were the same: Qin Xiong is a team player. He never appears selfish on the field. He uses his ability to see the big picture and his team awareness to help the team win. He stimulates the abilities of the other players in the team, blends the team together, generates team chemistry, and sublimates it!
Qin Xiong's contribution to this golden goal cannot go unnoticed. His wonderful individual performance caused many fans to scream and cheer. Viewers in front of the TV, you did not leave just now, did you? If you left, you would have missed Qin Xiong's best performance. You can only watch the replay of the match after the match! "
On the sidelines, Mourinho's expression changed slightly. His facial muscles twitched unnaturally for a moment before returning to normal.
If one were to say that FC Porto had developed defensive tactics to the extreme, including making use of the rules and challenging the rules, it was also a common tactic used by conservative football teams. For example, in Italy, which was famous for its defense, fouls were commonplace. When it was developed to the extreme, it would be spurned by people for using even more dirty methods. Since the birth of the chain defense 40 years ago, the characteristics of its peak were constantly repeated.
And Ajax had fully displayed the charm of attacking football to the world's audience.
This goal also reflected the core of Ajax's tactics. Team plus individual, with the team as the foundation, the individual's talent was unleashed.
Snede, Qin Xiong, and Maxwell. That was in fact a triangle system of team coordination. Ibrahimovic's containment, Van Der Vaart's movement, and Qin Xiong's individual performance. The characteristics of attacking football were incisively and vividly displayed.
Because of this, Qin Xiong and his teammates were incomparably proud when they went to celebrate. The more utilitarian FC Porto was, the more unconvinced they were!
This was a tit-for-tat battle between the philosophies and styles of the Grassi world!
Although Comain was excited about the team's equalizer, he still warned the team to defend well.
Mourinho did not have time to make adjustments to defend the lead in the first half. The two teams tacitly retreated in the last two minutes.
Ajax and FC Porto tied 1: 1 in the first half.
After returning to the locker room, Comain first walked up to Ibrahimovic and bent down to ask him a few things in a low voice.
Ibrahimovic, who had recovered from a minor injury and returned to the field, was sometimes good and sometimes bad in the first half. When he was good, he could coordinate or find an opportunity to shoot. When he was bad, even his positioning seemed a beat slower.
Comain understood how strong Ibrahimovic's ego was. Of course, he could not question him in front of the whole team, so he used a gentle way to ask Ibrahimovic about his feelings in the game.
Ibrahimovic's expression was firm as he gave Comain a "no problem" response.
In fact, when the football was not at his feet and the focus of the field was not on him, he was always harassed by the opponent's little moves. Carvalho, Costa, and sometimes Mendes.
This kind of harassment was sometimes not as simple as sticking close to the body and pulling the jersey. It included when he took the initiative to run, the opponent consciously blocked him, and when the referee team could not see, slightly exerted force to engage in a physical confrontation with him without the ball.
Of course, the attention of the offensive players could not always be on the opponent's defensive players. They had to pay attention to the offensive situation of their own side, and then run.
Therefore, Ibrahimovic would always look at his teammates behind him organizing the attack, and then he would be blocked by the opponent when he ran. It was as if he took the initiative to run into a wall. Not only was his position affected, but his mood also became very bad.
If it were not for the Champions League final, he would have exploded!
Comain then officially adjusted the tone of the first half at the last minute, establishing that the full backs' assists were mainly on Maxwell's side, and Grygera's side was mainly on defense.
After the redeployment, the Ajax players rested for a while and then returned to the field again to wait for the second half to begin.
In the second half, the two sides changed sides and fought again.
Mourinho still stood on the sidelines with a calm and cold look. What would his adjustment to Porto be?
"The second half of the game begins with Porto kicking off. The game is still a draw for the time being. Who will eventually win this season's Champions League? Let's wait and see! "
Porto and Ajax's posture had hardly changed.
At least from the audience's point of view, they could not see what adjustments the two teams had made during the halftime interval.
But Mourinho quickly noticed.
He had insight into Comain's adjustments to the team's defense. He walked to the sidelines in the 50th minute of the game and stopped Deco, telling him how to adjust the direction of his team's counterattack.
In the second half, Porto committed more fouls, especially against Qin Xiong!
In the 52nd minute of the game, he was knocked to the ground from behind by the opponent's striker, Alberto. The young Alberto's action was very amateurish, which made the Ajax players very unhappy.
Galasek and Snede put pressure on the referee, believing that the opponent's foul behind his back, which was beyond technical action, was enough to warrant a red card!
But the referee just showed Alberto a yellow card.
The scene was a little strange.
Both of Porto's strikers, Delle and Alberto, actually had yellow cards.
This reflected that Porto was a united whole.
Qin Xiong was under more pressure than in the first half. In view of his shocking performance in the process of creating the goal in the first half, Porto's entire team's defense was clearly targeted at him.
Qin Xiong was not in a hurry. He frequently kicked the ball out. It was not the first time that the opponent valued him. He was used to it.
Well, he was used to it since he was young.
And he also developed the habit of attracting firepower and creating opportunities for his teammates when he was valued by the opponent.
In the 54th minute of the second half, Qin Xiong sent out a stunning straight pass from the flank in the midfield. Van Der Vaart cut inside from the flank and got rid of Valente's defense. This offensive opportunity made Mourinho's heart tighten on the sidelines. He could not help but show a nervous expression.
Van Der Vaart observed Ibrahimovic's running position in the middle and decisively sent out a low pass. He expected Ibrahimovic to be able to send the ball into the goal, but Ibrahimovic's plan to run diagonally to the front to grab the shot was destroyed by Carvalho.
The center back kicked the ball out of the end line by falling to the ground to tackle the ball. Ibrahimovic had no chance to kick next to him.
Mourinho watched the performance of the Dutch genius on the sidelines and felt a little uneasy.
Although he gave Deco the exact tactical instructions, Porto's offense on the right flank did not improve much. The reason was that Costinha was not a winger with particularly good attacking power.
Mourinho pondered on the sidelines for a moment, then walked to the substitutes' bench and called a player to warm up.
The young commander decided to make a substitution.
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