super storm

Chapter 364 Let Me Come! [Third update on vomiting blood, please subscribe for a monthly pass]

September 27, night, Amsterdam Arena.

In the second round of Group B of the Champions League group stage, Ajax played against Arsenal at home.

This is a matchup between the two strongest teams in Group B.

Since the next match between the two sides will be the last round of the group stage, neither Sparta Prague nor Thun will be able to shake the top two positions in the group, so everyone has no doubt that this will be the key game to determine the top spot in the group.

Ajax drew [-]-[-] away with Sparta Prague in the first round, and Arsenal narrowly beat Thun [-]-[-] at home. If they lose this game again, it will be difficult for Ajax to shake Arsenal's top spot in the group.

Coupled with the home game, everyone believes that Ajax's opening tactics are more proactive.

But in fact, Arsenal has long been prepared.

In the knockout round of sixteen two years ago, Arsenal met Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena.

More importantly, Arsenal have lost all three away games so far this season, including the two games lost to Chelsea and Liverpool, with a score of zero to one.

All victories at home and all losses away, such a record is indeed unbelievable.

But it really happened to Arsenal.

Vieira's departure caused problems in Arsenal's midfield. Whether it is Fabregas or Flamini, it is still difficult to fill the gap left by Vieira's departure. This makes the Gunners' away games always very difficult.

Facing Ajax in this game, Arsene Wenger's team has been anti-offensive since the beginning and actively took the initiative.

In the first 10 minutes, Arsenal's possession rate was as high as 60.00%.

Three minutes into the game, Cesc Fabregas made a wonderful pass to the right, Hleb made a direct pass to the penalty area, and Reyes tried to pass the ball to Henry, but Vermaelen suddenly made a clearance and destroyed Arsenal's first attack.

But 1 minute later, it was another direct pass from Cesc Fabregas. Henry took a left-footed shot from the middle of the penalty area and failed to hit the goal.

Two minutes later, Reyes passed the ball, and the right defender Lauren followed up and shot a long shot 2 meters away.

In the 7th minute, after Hleb intercepted the ball in midfield, Reyes tried to drive the ball into the penalty area and was successfully intercepted by Maxwell.

In the 9th minute, Henry made a long-range shot from the defensive player outside the penalty area, which was confiscated by goalkeeper Stekelenburg again.

One minute later, Gilberto Silva wanted to follow his previous performance against Thun and took a long shot from more than 1 meters away, but the deviation was a bit too outrageous.

In the first 10 minutes, the game was completely controlled by Arsenal.

Ajax were forced to defend hard.

Ronald Koeman gradually realized the team's problems after going through the twists and turns in September.

In this game, Yaya Toure's task is more to defend the midfield, especially with De Jong, to protect the defense.

It is difficult for Arsenal to break through Ajax's defense in the middle, and they can only be forced to frequently shoot long shots.

The opponent took the lead at home, and Ajax did not gradually recover its state until the No. 15 minute.

The right side led by Yang Yang has become an active area for the team to attack, but Ashley Cole also attaches great importance to the defense of the left side, while Yang Yang frequently changes his position and often appears on the left side.

In the following time, the two teams had offense and defense with each other.

Among them, Ajax's most threatening attack occurred in the No.303 minute.

Maicon quickly inserted in from the right, and after cooperating with Yang Yang, the pass was passed into the penalty area, and Charisteas headed the ball.

Yang Yang, who quickly slanted into the penalty area from the right rib, rushed all the way to the front of the small penalty area, shaking his head and attacking the goal from close range.

But such a close header was hugged by Arsenal goalkeeper Almunia.

Charisteas raised his hand apologetically. Under Campbell's interference, he failed to head the ball straight, which made it a little high.

If he can press the ball down, Yang Yang can kick the ball directly without using his head.

Everyone in the team knows that Yang Yang's header is quite average.

Yang Yang himself felt a little depressed. He subconsciously headed for the ball that the Greek center ferryed over, but it was not good. In addition, Almunia was in a good position, so he couldn't score.

After learning from the painful experience, Yang Yang continued to look for opportunities patiently.

In the 403rd minute, Charisteas retreated to catch the ball and made a direct pass behind him. Yang Yang quickly threw off Ashley Cole and inserted it.

But at this time, his hand had an obvious opening movement, causing Yang Yang's shot to hit his hand and pop out of the baseline.

Yang Yang quickly complained to the referee that it was an intentional handball, and Kolo Toure's hand was obviously opened.

"If he didn't open his hand, my shot would have gone in!" Yang Yang said with certainty.

But the referee Luis Medina Cantaroyo from Spain rejected Yang Yang's appeal, thinking that his penalty was not wrong, which made Yang Yang feel very depressed and turned back.

When Kolo Touré passed by him, he patted his shoulder lightly. Obviously, the Ivorian himself felt very guilty. Whether it was intentional or unintentional, his arms were indeed opened just now.

…………

…………

"It was an undeniable handball!"

At half-time, in the home dressing room, Ronald Koeman replayed the slow-motion replay to all the players.

Handball, that's absolutely no problem.

Although it is impossible to tell whether it was intentional or unintentional, it was indeed a handball.

"But there is no way, we need to forget this misjudgment and concentrate on the second half of the game."

After fighting for 45 minutes, the players were obviously tired, and the strength of the opponent Arsenal was not weak at all.

Although Vieira is gone, the offensive firepower of this team is still very strong, especially Henry.

"As I said to everyone before the game, Arsenal's defensive problems are mainly concentrated in the deep midfield position."

Ronald Koeman drew a large strip of area at the front of Arsenal's penalty area on the tactical board.

Almunia in goal, Ashley Cole, Saul Campbell, Kolo Toure and Lauren in defense, Pires, Cesc Fabregas, Gilberto Silva and Hleb in midfield, Henry partnering Reyes in front.

Spanish teenager Cesc Fabregas replaced Vieira, and Sol Campbell became the captain of the team.

Regardless of the performance before the season or since the start of the league, Arsenal's performance in these games has clearly proved that Vieira's departure has caused an extremely painful blow to the Gunners' midfield, and their strength has been greatly weakened.

Of course, despite the weakening, Arsenal's overall strength is still slightly better than Ajax.

"Frankly speaking, I am not satisfied with the performance in the first half. Our start was not smooth. We should have taken the initiative, but we were preempted by Arsenal, and then we failed to complete the pre-match deployment well."

Ronald Koeman pushes pieces representing Ajax players on the tactical board.

"As we said before the game, to pull Arsenal's midfield from the wings and ribs, they often only have one Gilberto Silva in this area. As long as we pull him away, our back players will have a chance."

What Ronald Koeman mentioned was not only the two ribs of Yang Yang and Pienaar, but also the team's center.

Both Sneijder and Yaya Toure are good at running in from behind, and both are good at long-range shots.

Yang Yang has played against Cesc Fabregas and knows the Spanish midfielder's passing ability, but regarding his defense, Yang Yang believes that both Sneijder and Yaya Toure have the ability to make holes from him.

The only trouble is the Brazilian iron waist Gilberto Silva, he is like a god, standing at the front of Arsenal's penalty area, it is difficult to break through him.

But one person cannot cover everything. After Vieira left the team, it was difficult for Gilberto Silva to stabilize the midfield alone. This is also the key factor for Arsenal to lose all away games this season and lose to Chelsea and Liverpool one after another.

"Let me do it!" Yang Yang took the initiative to stand up and said.

Everyone immediately looked at him in unison, with admiration in their eyes.

Facing an opponent like Arsenal, being able to stand up at this time shows Yang Yang's courage and responsibility.

With such a captain, who is not convinced?
"I'll be in charge of dribbling the ball and attracting defensive attention, and the others will be in charge of running the gap," Yang Yang said.

In many cases, the core players of the team are not just as simple as scoring goals, but also take on more.

Especially the core players are often the opponents' key targets.

Looking at the current Ajax team, there are only players with Yang Yang's ability.

Pienaar on the left has good support and passing skills, but his ability to dribble and attack is not strong.

As for Sneijder and Yaya Toure, they are at the back and are not as easy to attract defensive attention as Yang Yang.

On the bench, there are many players who can dribble the ball, but there are really no players who can dribble the ball with confidence, attract the attention of the defense, and then pass the ball out. Even Ryan Babel, a genius who is favored by everyone, can't do this.

But Yang Yang can do it.

"Then I will pull in front." Charisteas also took the initiative to undertake the task.

"Campbell's condition in this game is not very good, pay attention to him." Yang Yang reminded the Greek center.

Just now when he was anti-offside, he had already noticed Campbell's state.

After transferring to Arsenal from arch-enemy Tottenham Hotspur, Sol Campbell was once hailed as the world's top central defender, but since last season, with the increase of age and the increase of injuries, his physical fitness has declined rapidly.

He is only 31 years old now, but it feels like his condition is declining rapidly. It is reported that Arsenal no longer intends to renew his contract and let him leave the team on a free transfer after the end of this season.

After confirming the information with his teammates, Yang Yang turned to look at Sneijder and Yaya Toure.

"You pay attention to running the gap, I will pass the ball to you."

(End of this chapter)