Chapter 260 - 253: Two Pairs

January 30th, Eredivisie Round 19.

Ajax hosted The Hague at home.

After a week’s absence, Yang Yang returned to the starting lineup, and the Ajax fans in the stadium were full of anticipation.

In a pre-match interview on the official Ajax website, Yang Yang said he couldn’t wait to get on the field.

For this match, Ronald Koeman once again deployed a 4-3-3 formation, fielding the attacking trident of Pinaar, Charisteas, and Yang Yang.

From the opening whistle, Yang Yang was incredibly active up front, covering a lot of ground.

Just four minutes in, Yang Yang suddenly appeared in the middle of the pitch. Receiving a cross from Pinaar on the left, he used his body to shield the ball from a defending midfielder from The Hague and charged forward.

As Yang Yang advanced into the final third, a Hague midfielder went in for a slide tackle, but Yang Yang deftly flicked the ball over him and continued his run.

The two opposing center-backs, positioned one behind the other, saw Yang Yang flick the ball past his man and immediately closed in to challenge him.

But as fast as they were, Yang Yang was clearly faster. He put on a sudden burst of speed, getting to the ball first and cutting it with his left foot.

After cutting inside past one of the center-backs with his left, he quickly poked the ball forward with his right.

"A beautiful knock-and-run!"

"Yang Yang on the ball, he’s taken it past three players from The Hague! He’s burst into the penalty area, he’s one-on-one with the keeper!"

"He scores!!!!!!"

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"

"Just five minutes into the match, Yang Yang puts on a spectacular display, taking on and beating three defenders!"

"He is in absolutely sensational form!"

The entire Amsterdam Arena erupted!

Over fifty thousand fans leaped to their feet, roaring wildly at the player on the pitch below.

Yang Yang sprinted off the pitch toward the corner flag, dropping into a knee slide and gazing up at the fans in the stands.

He felt the cheers wash over him, a tidal wave of sound crashing down from the stands.

Fifty thousand fans chanting "Yang Yang" in unison—the sound was simply overwhelming.

Yang Yang burst into a hearty laugh.

He hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly. ’The Hague’s defense shouldn’t be this bad.’

But he could genuinely feel his own power steadily increasing, a fact made evident by his sudden burst of acceleration just now.

At the same time, he sensed an energy building within him, feeling as if it were about to erupt.

He knew: the bowl beneath the stalactite was almost full!

...

...

"That kid!" Ronald Koeman burst out laughing.

They could already tell from training that Yang Yang was in good form, but they had chalked it up to him being hungry for a game after a week on the sidelines. They never expected him to deliver a surprise like this.

He beat three men!

"Adelar is probably going to cry!" Luther Carroll laughed.

Frans Adelaar, the current head coach of The Hague, was also the former manager of Utrecht. Foeke Booy was his successor there. No one had ever imagined that both of these old colleagues would end up being defeated by Yang Yang.

Hearing this, Ronald Koeman turned to look at the away team’s dugout.

Sure enough, the look on Adelar’s face was grim.

’Conceding a goal just five minutes in? What is going on?’

’This has all the makings of a total rout!’

The Hague’s manager immediately went to the touchline, repeatedly shouting at his players to stay calm and keep their composure.

But on the pitch, Ajax’s morale was soaring, and they continued to dominate the match.

...

...

In the twenty-eighth minute, Yang Yang received a pass from Maicon near the right byline. He cut back into the penalty area and played a pass back toward the penalty spot, where Sneijder arrived with a surging run and buried it first-time.

Two-nil!

Ajax was in complete control of the match.

Just before halftime, Pinaar and Maxwell combined on the left wing. The South African international played a diagonal ball in behind The Hague’s defense.

Yang Yang made a sharp diagonal run, breaking into The Hague’s penalty area. As the opposing goalkeeper decisively rushed off his line, Yang Yang lifted his left foot high and brought Pinaar’s pass down perfectly.

The ball seemed to be glued to his boot, stopping dead at his feet.

The keeper lunged and got nothing but air. Before he could recover, Yang Yang had already tapped the ball into the empty net!

Three-nil!

A brace!

The entire stadium once again erupted in thunderous cheers.

All the fans screamed Yang Yang’s name at the top of their lungs.

Yang Yang once again ran to the sidelines, celebrating his second goal of the match with a knee slide.

This was also his fourteenth goal of the season.

...

...

Trailing three-nil at halftime, The Hague made two substitutions during the break.

Yang Yang, having scored two and assisted one, was substituted for Demuer in the sixtieth minute.

In the eighty-sixth minute, Ajax won a corner, and Vermaelen found the back of the net once again.

The Belgian center-back had been scoring frequently from set pieces all season, which helped him cement his place in Ajax’s back line and earn a reputation as a goal-scoring defender.

In the end, powered by Yang Yang’s two goals and one assist, Ajax claimed a resounding 4-0 victory over The Hague at home, securing all three points.

After this round of matches, Alkmaar, with one win and one draw after the winter break, had earned four points, continuing to lead the Eredivisie table with forty-six points.

Ajax and Eindhoven were both on a two-game winning streak, tied for second with forty-five points. Due to an inferior goal difference, Ajax was forced to settle for third place.

Feyenoord’s start to the second half of the season was far from ideal, with one draw and one loss, earning only one point from two rounds. Their total of thirty-five points placed them in fourth.

Beyond the league table, on the top scorer chart, Yang Yang’s brace brought his season total to fourteen goals, putting him level with Kuyt. The two now shared the top spot, a development that stunned the entire Dutch football scene.

Everyone began to speculate that Yang Yang would become Ajax’s youngest Top Scorer since Cruyff.

Heise Linke scored a hat-trick in his match this round, while Huntelaar scored one, bringing both of their totals to twelve goals.

As for Perez and Kalu, who had been so impressive in the first half of the season, neither had yet to score since the restart.

In addition to his goals, Yang Yang’s assist tally had also reached nine. The rare achievement of double digits in both goals and assists was now just within his grasp.

While Yang Yang was on a scoring spree, Feyenoord’s star striker, Kuyt, was coming under scrutiny.

This local Dutch striker, who started his career at Utrecht, had been leading the top scorer chart all season. With fourteen goals and seven assists so far, his performance had been unanimously praised domestically in the Netherlands.

But over the last four league matches, he seemed to have hit a slump, scoring only a single goal. This allowed Yang Yang to quickly erase his lead on the top scorer chart, and even Heise Linke and Huntelaar were closing in from behind.

With Ajax set to host Feyenoord in Round 20 of the Eredivisie, the media went into a frenzy, hyping up the battle for the Top Scorer title between Yang Yang and Kuyt.

...

...

February 6th, Eredivisie Round 20.

Ajax hosted Feyenoord at home.

Feyenoord’s recent form was poor. Once leaders of the league, they had now dropped to fourth, and head coach Ruud Gullit was beginning to face scrutiny. This made him dead set on defeating Ajax away from home.

Both sides went at it with everything they had from the first whistle, making for a wide-open, attacking game.

Yang Yang carried his excellent form over from the last match. Just thirteen minutes in, he collected an assist from Maicon on the right and, from inside the box, drilled a low shot with his right foot past the Feyenoord keeper.

The goal sent the Amsterdam Arena into a frenzy and put Yang Yang ahead of Kuyt on the top scorer chart.

But just nine minutes later, Kuyt leveled the score off an assist from Kalu.

The two teams were back on level terms, and the two strikers were once again tied on the top scorer chart.

Just before halftime, Ajax mounted another attack. Maxwell sent in a cross from the left, and Charisteas buried a close-range header to retake the lead.

Just four minutes into the second half, Kuyt scored again for Feyenoord, leveling the match once more.

In doing so, Kuyt also reclaimed the top spot on the scorer’s chart.

But only a minute later, Yang Yang quickly initiated a counter-attack down the right flank and assisted a goal for Sneijder.

This assist brought Yang Yang’s season total to ten, securing him the impressive milestone of double digits in both goals and assists.

Having retaken the lead, Ajax continued to control the tempo of the game, patiently probing for openings and capitalizing on Feyenoord’s growing frustration.

Yang Yang was especially active on the pitch. Around the sixtieth-minute mark, he even went over to the sideline to speak with the head coach, asking to remain in the game.

"I need to score again!" Yang Yang said with determination.

’After all that work to catch up to Kuyt on the scorer’s chart, he’s pulled ahead by a goal again. How can I let that stand?’

Ronald Koeman and Luther Carroll both respected Yang Yang’s wishes and agreed to let him continue playing.

"Don’t force it. The more you rush, the harder it’ll be to find an opening," Luther Carroll advised.

Yang Yang nodded vigorously.

When the match resumed, Yang Yang tirelessly searched for an opportunity, his off-the-ball movement relentless.

His teammates understood what he wanted and actively tried to create chances for him.

The Feyenoord defenders, who had been run ragged chasing Yang Yang all game, finally showed another crack in their armor.

In the seventieth minute, Sneijder distributed the ball to the right flank. Maicon received it, quickly dribbled forward, and passed to Yang Yang at the edge of the box.

Upon receiving the ball, Yang Yang quickly turned to cut inside, but Feyenoord’s left-back stuck to him like glue. A tracking midfielder also positioned himself at the edge of the box, giving Yang Yang no space whatsoever.

After a quick burst of acceleration, Yang Yang suddenly touched the ball into the penalty area with his left foot and followed it inside.

But as the Feyenoord left-back quickly followed, Yang Yang came to a sudden stop and pulled the ball back with his right foot.

The two quick moves happened in the blink of an eye. Before the defender could react, Yang Yang had created a sliver of space and unleashed another curling shot with his left foot.

The ball sailed over the outstretched hands of the keeper, Babos, and crashed into the back of the net.

Four-two!

A brace!

Yang Yang had caught up to Kuyt once again!