Chapter 246 239: Successive Victories

A week later, the tenth round of the Eredivisie.

Ajax hosted Nijmegen at home.

Yang Yang, who had just turned eighteen, was in the starting lineup again.

Nijmegen's defense was well-organized, and they employed a strategy of specifically marking Yang Yang. Despite this, Yang Yang remained very active and created several chances for his teammates, but unfortunately, none were converted.

With the right wing performing so well and drawing attention, a surprise attack from the left proved unexpectedly effective.

Maxwell assisted a goal by Pinaar, helping Ajax secure a narrow 1-0 victory over Nijmegen.

Although Yang Yang didn't get on the scoresheet, his performance still earned widespread praise.

In this round, Feyenoord challenged Alkmaar away, only to be thrashed 4-1 by Van Gaal's team. To make matters worse, toward the end of the second half, two Feyenoord players, including Song Zhongguo, received red cards.

They truly lost both the match and their dignity.

Eindhoven, on the other hand, drew 0-0 away against Utrecht.

After this round, Ajax's league ranking climbed one more spot, rising to fifth place.

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Three days later, the fourth round of Champions League Group C.

Ajax challenged Maccabi Tel Aviv away from home.

After a hard-fought first half that ended 0-0, the deadlock was broken just four minutes into the second half. Yang Yang provided an assist for Wesley Sonck, who scored to put Ajax on the board first.

After that, Yang Yang's presence on the right wing continued to tie up Maccabi Tel Aviv's defense. In the 56th minute, Pinaar assisted Wesley Sonck from the center for another goal.

Maccabi Tel Aviv then pulled one back in the eighty-eighth minute.

In the end, Ajax defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-1 away.

Meanwhile, following a 1-0 home victory over Bayern Munich, Juventus defeated the Bundesliga giants 1-0 away in the fourth round. With an impressive record of four straight wins, Capello's team successfully secured the top spot in the group, qualifying early.

After four rounds of group stage matches, Juventus was first in the group with twelve points. Both Bayern Munich and Ajax had six points, but based on their head-to-head record, Bayern Munich's 4-0 home victory over Ajax allowed them to rank second.

Maccabi Tel Aviv was at the bottom of the group with a record of four straight losses.

Looking at the schedule, Ajax faced two tough matches in the next two rounds: away against Juventus and home against Bayern Munich. Both could be considered crucial showdowns.

Needless to say, Capello's Juventus was absolutely the strongest team in Europe at the moment, bar none. And Bayern Munich was no pushover either, as Ajax's crushing 0-4 away defeat was enough to prove the huge gap in strength between the two sides.

For this reason, both the media and everyone within Ajax itself aimed to secure third place in the group.

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Back in the Eredivisie, it was time for the eleventh round.

Ajax challenged William II away from home.

Just ten minutes into the match, Ajax's defense made a critical error. Gregory inadvertently scored an own goal, putting Ajax in a dire situation.

After conceding the early goal, the team seemed rattled for a time, but players like Yang Yang and Sneijder quickly helped Ajax settle down and regain control of the match.

In the 36th minute, Yang Yang and Sneijder executed a one-two pass. Sneijder then assisted Pinaar, who scored to level the score.

Seven minutes later, Yang Yang muscled his way through on the right wing and set up Charisteas for a close-range header, putting Ajax in the lead.

After the break, Charisteas returned the favor. He flicked on a header, providing a brilliant assist for Yang Yang. Yang made a diagonal run into the box and blasted a shot into the net, sealing the victory for Ajax.

In the end, Ajax came from behind to defeat William II 3-1 away.

As both Eindhoven and Feyenoord won their matches by large margins in this round, Ajax's ranking rose one more spot to fourth, three points behind third-place Alkmaar.

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November 14th, the twelfth round of the Eredivisie.

Ajax hosted Demboch at home.

Because many international players were called up to their national teams, Ajax's lineup was severely depleted.

Several young backup players, including Maduro, Babel, and Filipe Luís, were in the starting lineup. With the Greek striker Anastasios up front, the team's overall strength was weakened.

Demboch, deep in the relegation zone, set up to defend with everything they had. This strategy left Ajax struggling to find an effective way to attack, and Yang Yang was often isolated up front, unable to make an impact.

Despite the loud cheers from the Ajax fans, the players on the pitch just couldn't find a way to break down the opposition's defense.

From the first half to the second half, from the fiftieth minute to the seventieth, eightieth, and even the eighty-ninth minute, Ajax was still struggling to find a way to score.

By the final stage of the match, Yang Yang was already exhausted, but he still gritted his teeth and carried on.

When the fourth official on the sideline raised the board indicating three minutes of stoppage time, everyone—from the fans in the stadium to the viewers at home, and even the commentators—had all but concluded that Ajax was heading for a frustrating draw against Demboch.

But at this critical moment, Yang Yang received a pass from Sneijder on the right and knocked it back to Maicon.

The Brazilian right-back sent a diagonal pass into the box, precisely finding Anastasios.

The Greek striker used his body to shield the ball from Demboch's center-back and gently laid the pass back.

Yang Yang, who had been on the edge of the area, suddenly made a diagonal run into the box from the right channel. After receiving the pass from Anastasios, he burst into a sprint and cut inside, shrugging off a tracking Demboch midfielder. Near the penalty spot, he executed a Pendulum Move to dribble past another center-back before unleashing a furious shot with his left foot.

"Yang Yang gets past two defenders... and shoots!"

"THE BALL'S IN!!!!"

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

"Yang Yang! In the crucial moment! Yang Yang steps up again and saves Ajax!"

"One-nil!"

After scoring, Yang Yang was overcome with excitement and ran off the field in celebration.

All 50,000-plus Ajax fans jumped out of their seats, shouting his name at the top of their lungs.

"Yang Yang! Yang Yang!! Yang Yang!!!"

The Ajax players also rushed wildly to the sideline, mobbing Yang Yang in a group hug.

This sudden goal meant three precious points, and it also extended Ajax's recent winning streak.

In a close-up on the live broadcast, Yang Yang laughed heartily, accepting the congratulations from the fans in the stands and his teammates beside him.

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After the twelfth round of the league, Ajax remained in fourth place with twenty-four points.

Feyenoord drew their match in this round, while Eindhoven secured a 1-0 victory. Both teams now had twenty-nine points, but Eindhoven moved into the top spot. Alkmaar also won their match, taking them to twenty-seven points and holding third place.

Saving the team in a critical moment during stoppage time, Yang Yang received unanimous praise from the Dutch media and fans after the match.

The Dutch Telegraaf was particularly effusive, noting that with several key players away on international duty, Ajax had been playing with a half-strength squad and struggling to score.

But at the critical moment, Yang Yang proved his quality with an outstanding goal, further convincing everyone that he has what it takes to become Ajax's new talisman.

"It's in the crucial moments that you see who the real heroes are!"

With his goal against Demboch, Yang Yang broke into the Eredivisie's top scorer charts with six league goals, tying him for sixth place with players like Van der Haar.

But if you also count Yang Yang's five assists, he was inarguably the most lethal attacking player in the Eredivisie this season.

While Yang Yang was struggling to lead a depleted Ajax to victory over Demboch, the Netherlands also beat Andorra 3-0 away, giving Van Basten's team an unbeaten start of three wins and one draw.

Far away in Asia, the Chinese National Team defeated Hong Kong, China 2-0.

Since the Chinese Team had already defeated Kuwait away, this match was of little consequence. What drew more attention was the debut of the tall center-forward from Shandong, Han Peng, who was playing for the National Team for the first time. However, his performance was average, and he didn't score.

Everyone also clearly realized that Arie Haan was looking for a suitable center-forward partner for Yang Yang.

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November 20th, the thirteenth round of the Eredivisie.

Ajax challenged Graafschap away from home.

The international players gradually returned to the squad after their duties, but the inevitable fatigue from travel meant their form suffered.

Ajax's performance throughout the first half was rather lackluster, and they could never get into gear. Yang Yang's performance on the right wing was one of the few bright spots.

However, that all changed in the second half.

Just two minutes after the restart, Yang Yang forced his way down the right wing to win a corner. From the resulting kick, Sneijder assisted Vermaelen, who headed the ball in.

Six minutes later, it was Yang Yang again, linking up with Maicon on the right. The Brazilian right-back then sent a cross from the byline, forcing an own goal from Graafschap defender Daaf Bass.

With a two-goal lead, the match completely fell into Ajax's rhythm.

Yang Yang frequently made runs on the right wing, but also often switched positions suddenly to the left.

In the 65th minute, Yang Yang popped up on the left wing. After receiving a pass from Maxwell, he cut inside with the ball and unleashed a sudden, curling shot with his right foot that found the back of Graafschap's net. 3-0.

Two minutes later, Maicon received a pass from Yang Yang on the right, and his cross from the byline resulted in a corner kick. Sneijder once again provided the assist for Vermaelen to score another header, giving the Belgian center-back the first brace of his career.

Just four minutes later, another Ajax attack saw Galasek unleash a long-range shot from the edge of the box that flew into Graafschap's goal.

In the end, Ajax thrashed Graafschap 5-0 away from home.

As Feyenoord unexpectedly lost 1-2 at home to Groningen, while both Eindhoven and Alkmaar reliably won their matches, the top three in the league standings changed. Eindhoven took the lead, followed closely by Alkmaar, with Feyenoord occupying third. Ajax remained in fourth.

Although their ranking didn't change, Ajax's winning streak and momentum were very promising.

In particular, Yang Yang's continuous goal-scoring pushed him up another spot on the top scorers list. He was now tied for fifth with Eindhoven's Heise Linke, both with seven goals.

And three days after the Graafschap match, Ajax journeyed to Turin, Italy, to play at the Alpe Stadium against their group's strongest opponent, Juventus.