Chapter 152 145: The Tables Have Finally Turned

"It's another counter-attack from Ajax."

"Let's see... the ball goes to the right wing again, to Yang Yang."

"But Real Madrid are tracking back quickly this time. Let's see if Yang Yang has an opportunity."

"He hits a huge switch directly to the left wing!"

"Yes, a very creative long ball from Yang Yang, and a good one at that! Maxwell is unmarked... he passes to Wesley Sonck, there's a chance..."

"Sergado tackles the ball out of bounds. It's a throw-in for Ajax."

"Maxwell comes up to take the throw. All the Ajax players are moving into the box."

"He throws it directly into the penalty area! Wesley Sonck contests for the first ball... Elgara clears it, heading it out of the box."

"But it hasn't gone far, landing at the edge of the area..."

"An Ajax player is moving up..."

"Van der Vaart, with his left foot, takes the shot!"

"It's in!!!!!!!!!!"

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

"The fifty-sixth minute, the fifty-sixth minute! Ajax scores their second goal of the match, turning the score around to 2-1 against Real Madrid! And they've successfully brought the aggregate score over two legs to 4-5."

"There's only a one-goal difference between the two teams now!"

"My God, Ajax has been playing incredibly sharp since the start of the second half. The tempo is so fast, Real Madrid seems unable to keep up. They're making too many passing errors, giving their opponents too many chances to counter."

"Looking at the slow-motion replay, Yang Yang's long switch was very creative. After that, Ajax won a throw-in. While defending the throw, Real Madrid did well on the first ball—Elgara beat Wesley Sonck to head it away—but Ajax had complete control of the second ball."

"Even if Van der Vaart hadn't gotten to it this time, there was still Sneijder, and a little further to the right, Yang Yang. Ajax was clearly targeting the second ball, while all of Real Madrid's players were inside the box, leaving the outside completely open. This was a definite defensive lapse, and it gave Ajax their chance."

"That was a brilliant strike from Van der Vaart. He chested it down and volleyed it with his left foot. This perfectly showcases his outstanding individual skill. Truly worthy of his title as the top star of the Netherlands' new generation."

...

...

When they saw Van der Vaart unleash that brilliant long-range shot from outside the box with his left foot, the entire Amsterdam Arena went absolutely wild.

Never mind the fifty thousand fans in the stands; even Van Gaal and Van Pragg, sitting in the executive box, leaped from their seats in excitement, applauding and cheering forcefully.

This goal was too crucial!

Scoring in the fifty-sixth minute not only massively boosted the team's morale and restored the players' confidence, but it also weakened Real Madrid's fighting spirit. The Galaxy Battleship, already struggling with their stamina, found themselves in an even more difficult position.

"Did you see that, Michael?" Van Gaal pointed at the pitch, laughing heartily. "We've built up this momentum now. As long as we keep it up, we will definitely be the final victors tonight, definitely!"

As he spoke those last words, Van Gaal was exceptionally confident.

Having coached for twenty or thirty years, he knew all too well the importance of momentum. But at the same time, he also knew this was a challenge for the team. If they became complacent after closing a two-goal gap, wanting to take a breather and slow down, it would be the same as giving Real Madrid a chance to recover.

Therefore, the most important thing for the players on the field to do now was to press even harder, to suffocate Real Madrid and force them into more mistakes.

'With this in mind, Van Gaal couldn't help but look toward Ronald Koeman on the sideline. The latter seemed to have realized the problem as well and was shouting loudly at the celebrating players.'

But amidst the thunderous roar of the stadium, like a stampede of ten thousand horses, Ronald Koeman's shouts couldn't possibly reach the players' ears.

...

...

"Listen to me."

Yang Yang roared, panting heavily.

His teammates around him all turned to look at him. Every one of them was drenched in sweat, as if they had just been pulled out of water.

"We've only pulled back two goals, we can't relax! We have to keep pressing, non-stop, force them to make mistakes, more mistakes, and then we counter-attack! We can't give them a chance to breathe and regroup."

"Yang Yang's right. We have to keep pressing. It's our only chance," Sneijder was the first to respond.

The captain, Van der Vaart, looked at Yang Yang and nodded emphatically. "Alright, let's all get on the same page. We press high, force them into more errors, and hit them on the counter. Let's try to get that last goal back as soon as possible."

"That's right, we're only one goal away!" Yang Yang shouted back.

'Only one goal away?'

This was like a powerful stimulant injected into the bodies of all the Ajax players, making every single one of them brim with fighting spirit.

They had been three goals down, but now, only about ten minutes into the second half, they had already pulled two back. Just one more to go. If they could just score one more, the aggregate score would be tied at 5-5, but Ajax, with two away goals, would eliminate Real Madrid and advance to the semi-finals.

'The Champions League semi-finals!'

All the players' eyes were shining. In their entire lives, none of them had ever played in a Champions League semi-final. This would be their first time, and it could even be the last time in their careers.

"Let's go all out!"

"Yeah, let's give it everything!"

"Let's fight them to the death!"

Everyone let out roars of fury. It was a way to vent, but also to psych themselves up, to ensure that no matter what difficulties they faced, they had to hold on, to endure.

"Come on, together..."

Van der Vaart extended his hand. Everyone formed a circle, piling their hands on top of each other, before breaking apart with a shout.

"Let's fuckin' kill 'em!"

...

...

Yang Yang ran ceaselessly on the pitch.

When his team had the ball, he ran into open space, waiting for a pass from a teammate. When Real Madrid had the ball, he ran to press and apply pressure.

He clearly remembered what Van Basten had told him: ride the momentum and you'll achieve twice the result with half the effort; fight against it, and you'll get half the result for twice the effort.

Ajax had built up momentum now. He absolutely could not let the attack and the spirit the team had worked so hard to build just dissipate into thin air. They had to score another goal as soon as possible.

It was like the old saying: you summon your courage on the first drum roll, it wanes on the second, and is gone by the third.

Ajax soon threatened again with another counter-attack. Van der Vaart sent a diagonal pass from the left half-space into the box, precisely finding Ibrahimovic, but the latter's shot lacked power and angle, going straight into the arms of Casillas.

A minute later, Ajax launched another counter. But just as Ibrahimovic held up the ball on the edge of the box, shielding it from Mejia, a tracking-back Boerhaave came in with a flying tackle, bringing the Swedish Striker down.

Ibrahimovic, with his explosive temper, scrambled up from the ground and immediately gave Boerhaave a shove. With his hands behind his back, he menacingly thrust his head forward, looking ready to take Boerhaave out.

The referee gave Boerhaave a yellow card and sternly warned Real Madrid's holding midfielder.

Ajax didn't get too caught up in the confrontation and immediately restarted the match.

Real Madrid's head coach, Queiroz, didn't make any substitutions. It was clear he didn't have many cards to play. Solari and Portillo were both attacking players; bringing them on at this point would be like going toe-to-toe with Ajax.

Facing the home team whose morale was sky-high, Queiroz clearly didn't have that kind of courage.

The game continued with Ajax using relentless pressing and pressure to restrict Real Madrid's passing game. Especially as the superstars' stamina declined, Real Madrid's passing errors became more and more frequent.

At this point, both the fans in the stadium and the viewers watching on TV could clearly see the fatigue of the Real Madrid players. They could no longer keep up with Ajax's pace.

Yang Yang constantly looked for opportunities, making runs and moving into open spaces.

With him and Wesley Sonck on the right and left wings respectively, their speed posed a considerable threat on the counter-attack, leaving the Real Madrid defenders struggling to cope, especially on the right flank.

Yang Yang, having come on as a substitute, had the advantage in terms of stamina. He covered a lot of ground and made frequent sprints back and forth. Roberto Carlos, playing in two competitions and having played many consecutive matches, was struggling to keep up. The thirty-year-old Brazilian left-back's stamina was starting to fail him.

Finally, in the sixty-ninth minute of the match, Ajax won the ball high up the pitch. After Ibrahimovic stole the ball from Mejia, he immediately played it out to the right wing.

Yang Yang surged forward at incredible speed. After catching up to the ball, he saw from his [God's Vision] that Wesley Sonck was already poised and ready on the left wing. Without any hesitation or dwelling on the ball, he immediately hit a long, low, diagonal cross to the left side of the penalty area.

Wesley Sonck shook off Sergado and made a diagonal run into the box. Getting there before anyone else, he hit a low shot from the edge of the six-yard box into the bottom-left corner of the goal, scoring Ajax's third goal of the match.

Three to one!

The Belgian striker was so excited he ran right off the pitch, sprinting all the way to the foot of the fan stands.

All the Ajax players swarmed out after him, and every single one of them embraced each other tightly.

Three to one! The aggregate score is five-five, but Ajax has two away goals!

They've finally turned it around!

All the Ajax players were already soaked in sweat. Everyone was gasping for air, exhausted to the bone, but they still couldn't hide the elation on their faces.

Yang Yang had one arm around Wesley Sonck's neck and the other around Ibrahimovic's waist. He pressed his head together with all his teammates, and they all broke out in laughter.

This is the captivating part of football.

It's always full of unpredictability, always impossible to fathom. But at the same time, it never hesitates to reward you for your hard work.

This feeling of working together with teammates to win a match—especially a comeback victory against a top-tier giant like Real Madrid—was undoubtedly a deeply moving experience. It would be a game and an experience that everyone would remember forever.

"Now is not the time to be happy and celebrate. Don't forget that half-hour in the away game," Yang Yang remained calm.

Whether it was John Reep, Van Basten, John van Schip, or Luther Carroll, they all constantly warned Yang Yang about one thing: the more critical the moment, the more he had to remind himself to stay calm and not let anything go to his head.

And now, he was not only trying to keep himself calm, but he was also reminding his teammates.

Their opponent was Real Madrid. At any time, any place, a single flash of brilliance from one of their superstars could result in a goal.

Ajax couldn't afford the slightest bit of carelessness. They couldn't give their opponents even a sliver of an opportunity.