Chapter 276: Battle for the Top Spot

Chapter 276: Chapter 269: Battle for the Top Spot

March 10th, Moluo Stadium, Lille, France.

The first leg of the UEFA Cup Round of 16 knockout stage.

Ajax was away, challenging Ligue 1’s Lille.

This formidable Ligue 1 team was currently third in the league, behind only Lyon and Marseille, and ranked higher than even Monaco and Auxerre.

Defense was the foundation of Lille’s excellent performance in Ligue 1, but their weak offense meant that in twenty-eight league rounds, they had only managed a meager twelve wins, even fewer than fifth-place Auxerre.

A strong defense but weak attack—this was Lille’s biggest problem this season.

As a result, Lille’s home record was not ideal. After all, at home, they often faced more cautious, even conservative, away teams. Without a strong offense, it was difficult to secure three points.

Just like the Ajax team Lille was facing tonight.

Despite having the superior team overall, Ronald Koeman still fielded the double defensive midfielder pairing of Galasek and De Jong, with the aim of consolidating the defense in the midfield and backline.

Lille was also highly vigilant against Yang Yang, this season’s rising star in the Eredivisie, deploying heavy defensive coverage to contain him. This made it difficult for Yang Yang to find any opportunities throughout the first half.

But just as everyone thought the first half would end in a 0-0 draw during stoppage time, Yang Yang suddenly exploded into action.

Sneijder sent a precise through ball over the top, delivering it into the penalty area.

Yang Yang shook off his defender and cut diagonally into the box from the right side at top speed. Just before the onrushing Lille Goalkeeper could reach it, he chipped the ball, which sailed past the Goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

Yang Yang was brought down by the charging Goalkeeper. After rolling over once, he got to his knees just in time to see the football bouncing behind the goal line. He raised his hands high, celebrating another goal.

In the end, thanks to Yang Yang’s goal in the forty-fifth minute, Ajax secured a narrow 1-0 away victory over Lille.

……

……

On the weekend, it was back to the Eredivisie for the twenty-fifth round.

Ajax was away, challenging Nijmegen.

The continuous, multi-front campaign since February was finally starting to take its toll. The recent string of away matches, in particular, had left the players exhausted. Coupled with Nijmegen’s staunch defense, Ajax’s performance in the match was quite sluggish.

Yang Yang was in great form and continued to work hard. Although his teammates were not at their best, he still managed to create several good scoring opportunities through his individual skill.

Notably, in the fifty-first minute, Yang Yang dribbled past several players on the right flank, cut inside, and then made a horizontal pass to the edge of the penalty area.

Maduro, who was starting in place of Galasek in this match, made a late run, took a powerful shot, and scored the winning goal for Ajax.

In the end, thanks to Yang Yang’s assist for Maduro’s goal, Ajax scraped by with a 1-0 away victory against Nijmegen.

After the match, Yang Yang was the only attacking player for Ajax to escape criticism. In fact, both the media and the fans gave his performance high praise, considering him the team’s sole bright spot.

Yang Yang felt a tinge of regret for not scoring, but such is the game of football.

Fortunately, although Feyenoord won a resounding 4-1 victory at home against Roda JC this round, Kuyt also failed to score.

The goal tally between them remained at twenty to twenty-two, with Yang Yang still trailing by two goals.

This round, Eindhoven routed The Hague 4-0 at home, while Alkmaar defeated Graafschap 3-2 at home. The top four in the league standings remained unchanged.

……

……

Three days later, it was the second leg of the UEFA Cup Round of 16 knockout stage.

Ajax hosted Lille at home.

Sensing the team’s recent fluctuating form, especially with several attacking players—aside from Yang Yang—being in mediocre shape, Ronald Koeman made major rotations to the squad. He even seemed intent on forfeiting this match to focus on the league.

There was really no other choice. Ajax’s squad depth was insufficient to support a continuous campaign on multiple fronts. Young players like Babel and Maduro were not yet ready to carry the team on their own, forcing the coaching staff to make a trade-off.

Although the UEFA Cup was a European competition, the financial returns were low, and the investment was disproportionate to the rewards.

In contrast, going all out to secure their position in the league and qualify for next season’s Champions League would bring Ajax a much more handsome reward—at least ten million Euros, an amount that even winning the UEFA Cup couldn’t provide.

This was also why most strong teams were generally unwilling to invest heavily in the UEFA Cup.

Moreover, in the twenty-sixth round of the Eredivisie, Ajax would be hosting Eindhoven. This was another pivotal match that could decide the league title, and Ronald Koeman had no choice but to prioritize it.

After the major squad rotation, Ajax’s performance was affected, but Lille still couldn’t break through Ajax’s defense.

In the end, the two sides played to a 0-0 draw at the Amsterdam Arena.

Thanks to their 1-0 away victory, Ajax narrowly defeated Lille 1-0 on aggregate, advancing to the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.

……

……

「March 19th, Amsterdam Arena.」

Eredivisie Round 26, Ajax hosted Eindhoven.

When the match reached the fifty-seventh minute, the score was still 0-0.

But at this moment, Eindhoven suddenly made a rather surprising substitution.

Hiddink substituted Woger on for the team captain, Mark van Bommel.

Seeing this substitution, Yang Yang was also surprised. Van Bommel was one of Eindhoven’s most dominant players on the field. ‘Hiddink is taking him off now and bringing on Woger… Is he trying to strengthen the attack?’

This wasn’t entirely strange, because before Van Bommel was taken off, Eindhoven had already made one substitution, bringing on Gerard Sibon for Farfan. Sibon was a tall center-forward, standing at 1.96 meters.

After Sibon came on, he and Heise Linke formed two towering giants in Eindhoven’s attack. At this point, continuing to stack the midfield with both Kokou and Van Bommel seemed somewhat wasteful.

Besides, there were pre-match rumors that Van Bommel was carrying an injury, so it was also possible Hiddink was protecting him.

But regardless, with Van Bommel off and Woger on, Eindhoven was sending a very clear signal of their attacking intent.

After a 0-0 first half, Hiddink wanted to end the battle in the second half. He wanted to use this match to completely erase any suspense about the Eredivisie title this season.

After the substitution, Eindhoven began to push forward aggressively, fully utilizing the threat of their two towering center-forwards and actively attacking down both flanks.

Ajax, being the weaker team overall compared to Eindhoven, continued to play cautiously, employing a defensive counter-attack strategy.

With Van Bommel gone and Eindhoven pushing up to attack, Yang Yang gained more freedom up front.

Just five minutes after Van Bommel left the pitch, Ajax suddenly got a chance to counter-attack.

Center-forward Charisteas dropped back from the box to receive a pass from the defense, and after controlling it, he laid it off to the right flank.

Yang Yang received the ball and was one-on-one with Lee Yong-Soo.

The South Korean left-back, though mentally prepared, was extremely cautious when facing Yang Yang, not daring to be the least bit careless.

But just before taking off, Yang Yang made a very subtle feint that caught Lee Yong-Soo’s eye. Immediately after, he burst forward with incredible speed. Lee Yong-Soo felt like he saw a blur, and Yang Yang had already zipped past him with the ball.

By the time he turned to give chase, Yang Yang had already charged into the penalty area and shot with his right foot.

GOOOAL!!!!

The entire Amsterdam Arena erupted in cheers, everyone chanting Yang Yang’s name!

Lee Yong-Soo could only shake his head helplessly. For the past two seasons, almost every time he faced Yang Yang, it felt like a nightmare.

‘This Chinese player is just too fast! And his body is too agile!’

‘And he has so many feints. If you lose focus for even a split second, he can seize the opportunity to break through.’

1-0. With Yang Yang’s goal, Ajax took a temporary lead.

This was also Yang Yang’s twenty-first goal of the season!

After conceding a goal, Eindhoven didn’t retreat. Instead, they pushed forward even more resolutely.

In fact, everyone in the Eredivisie knew that Ajax’s biggest defensive weakness was dealing with high balls.

This was a consequence of Ajax’s tactics. Finding two center-backs who were not only exceptional at defending high balls but also skilled at playing the ball out from the back was nearly impossible.

Ronald Koeman had started Vlaar in this match, and he had played well, neutralizing Heise Linke in the first half. But in the second half, Hiddink brought on an even more terrifying presence: the nearly two-meter-tall Sibon.

Just five minutes after Ajax’s goal, Eindhoven finally seized an opportunity.

Lee Yong-Soo, making an overlapping run on the left flank, redeemed himself for his earlier mistake. He sent a cross from the left into the box, and Sibon overpowered Heitinga to head the ball into the net, equalizing for Eindhoven.

The South Korean player showed great resilience, not letting the fact that Yang Yang had just powered past him affect his emotions or performance, something Yang Yang found rather admirable.

‘In terms of player ability, Park Ji-sung, Lee Yong-Soo, and even Feyenoord’s Xiaoye Sheng Er are indeed a cut above the Chinese players. I have to admit there’s a gap.’

Just two minutes later, Ajax launched another counter-attack.

Maicon sent a long pass from the right flank over the defense. Yang Yang, at top speed, shook off Lee Yong-Soo and ran onto the ball behind Eindhoven’s backline. By the time he collected it, he was already on the right side of the penalty area. After a quick glance into the box, and before Lee Yong-Soo could get back into position, Yang Yang hit a low cross straight to the far post.

Ryan Babel, who had just come on as a substitute for Pinaar, followed up quickly and easily tapped it in at the far post, putting Ajax back in the lead.

Two to one!

The Ajax fans in the Amsterdam Arena felt like they were on a roller coaster, their emotions rising and falling dramatically.

Eindhoven’s overall strength this season was just too formidable, and Ajax was truly struggling to cope.

Especially in defense. Whether it was Vermaelen or Vlaar, although both had put in good performances, they still needed to work harder if they were to replace Qi Wu and Escude.

As for Wesley Sonck, the Belgian First Division A Golden Boot winner who had been so highly anticipated before the season, he had now been frozen out by Ronald Koeman. The coach would rather use Ryan Babel than even bring Sonck on as a substitute. It was almost certain he would leave the team after the season.

Yang Yang felt a bit wistful about this, as he and Wesley Sonck had once won the Champions League title side-by-side.

In the eighty-sixth minute of the second half, Eindhoven got a corner kick. Sibon headed the ball across the goal, and Heise Linke scored at the far post, leveling the score for Eindhoven.

In the end, this top-of-the-table Eredivisie clash ended in a 2-2 draw.

The suspense over the championship continued.