On the evening of April 7, the Amsterdam Arena was packed.

Ajax, who played at home, once again lined up in a four-three-three formation for this game, but the starting lineup was adjusted.

There were no changes at the back, still goalkeeper Robont, Maxwell, Escud, Heitinga and Trabelsi formed a back four, but the midfield once again lined up a back two of Galasek and De Jong, with Sneijder in the middle.

The front three are Van der Vaart, who has been in much better form recently, on the left, Ibrahimovic in the middle and Wesley Sonk on the right, but the position of the three players is not fixed.

Real Madrid still has a four-two-three-one formation, with the goalkeeper Casillas, the backline Roberto Carlos, Mejía, Elguera and Salgado, the midfielders and Guti Borja and Guti, Zidane, Raul and Figo partnering, and Ronaldo rushing forward.

As it turned out, Queiroz had very few cards to choose from, and in the end he chose to drag Elguela to the back and partner Borja with Guti, which was also fully in line with the pre-match predictions of the Ajax coaching staff.

The prediction is on the right track, but Ajax's overall strength is still at a disadvantage.

Immediately after the opening, Real Madrid quickly dominated the field with their skillful passing and control play, and Ajax struggled to grab the ball from the opponent's feet, so they were forced to shrink into their own half to defend.

Robert Carlos on the left was very active, and he frequently attacked on the left side in the opening game.

In this game, Ajax's defensive strategy on the wing is very clear, you can cross the bottom, but you can't cut inside, Trabelsi and Maxwell are strictly executed according to this requirement, the main reason is that Ronaldo and Raul are not good at fighting for the top.

It was not until the 12th minute that Ajax had a chance to counter-attack and fired their team's first shot of the game, but it was an anti-aircraft gun that failed to threaten at all.

The shot came from Sneijder's close-in long-range shot, but it couldn't hold the ball down.

Then, Real Madrid launched a counterattack, and Ajax once again returned to the strategy of defending the counter-attack.

In the twentieth minute, Real Madrid were a dangerous game, playing a wave of fierce attacks, winning three corners in a row, creating a threat on all three occasions, but always a little bit on the goal.

This wave of offensive was eventually temporarily interrupted by De Jong's yellow card, and if the team can successfully advance, De Jong will accumulate yellow cards and be suspended.

Ajax's tenacious defence also won the cheers of 50,000 fans in attendance, and everyone knew that against a team like Real Madrid, they really had to defend and counterattack.

Attack? That would be the equivalent of suicide!

It wasn't until the 28th minute that Ajax had their second shot of the game, a volley from Van der Vaart, but it was also off target and failed to threaten.

In the first half hour, Ajax not only fell behind the opponent in possession, but also only played two shots on goal, which was evident in the passivity and embarrassment on the field, but in any case, the team still held on to the 0-0 result.

Perhaps it was the defense of the Galaxy Battleship's offensive that made the Ajax players begin to relax their mentality and become more confident, or the Real Madrid players consciously slowed down the offensive and allowed Ajax to play a proper counterattack.

Thirty minutes later, Ajax began to organise more counter-attacks, and almost every counter-attack went into the dangerous area, much to the excitement of the players on the pitch and the fans in the stands, as if they had seen the goal come.

But just when everyone's confidence was bursting, Real Madrid suddenly broke the ball successfully, Zidane cut off De Jong's pass, and quickly plugged straight behind the defense, and Ronaldo quickly inserted.

Although the Brazilian striker is no longer in peak condition, although many people criticize his obesity, in an instant, he completely tore apart the Ajax defense, received Zidane's pass, and crossed to the goal, Raul followed up and pushed the goal.

1 to 0!

With such a mistake, Real Madrid not only caught, but also scored!

That's what a superstar is! This is Real Madrid!

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"Seven minutes, seven minutes left until the end of the first half!"

Ronald Coman was so depressed that he felt the urge to go crazy.

It was as if a raging rage burned in his heart, wanting to erupt from his chest, but he knew very well that he really couldn't blame anyone.

Everyone will make mistakes, and De Jong performed very well throughout the first half, just that one pass and reception error, and Zidane grabbed it, and reacted very quickly, directly passing the fatal through the back of the ball.

Ronaldo also caught it, Raul also caught it.

What can Koeman say?

The entire Amsterdam Arena fell silent, and all the fans must have been as depressed as Ronald Koeman, because the goal conceded had pushed Ajax into a desperate situation.

With Real Madrid three goals ahead on aggregate, it is entirely conceivable how difficult it will be for Ajax to score three goals in a row while not allowing the Galaxy to score.

So big that Ronald Koeman really had a kind of despair of simply giving up.

"Don't do that, Ronald." Luther Carroll patted Ronald Koeman on the shoulder soothingly.

As an assistant coach, he can understand Ronald Koeman's mood at this time and the pressure on his shoulders, but isn't the game over yet?

'We still have the second half, we still have chances and hopes. Luther Carroll persuaded.

Ronald Koeman's eyes regained a little brightness after hearing this, and he thought of the team's pre-match tactics and the right-sided knife Yang Yang sitting on the bench.

"Yes, we still have a chance." Ronald Coman took a deep breath and tried to calm his mind.

"Luther, tell Yang Yang that the plan is ahead of schedule and the midfield will be replaced."

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"It's over, it's over!"

Club president Michael van Praag shook his head vigorously as he looked at the Real Madrid players rushing out of the pitch below to celebrate.

If you're two goals behind, there's still some hope, but now you're three goals behind, is that possible?

"It's not over yet, and it's not over yet." Van Gaal, who was beside him, gritted his teeth and said.

"What?" Van Praag looked at the technical director with some surprise.

Three goals behind, and against a team like Real Madrid, it's not over yet?

If nothing else, the other key matchup in the top half of the table yesterday was Deportivo La Coruna hosting AC Milan.

Deportivo La Coruna, who lost 1-4 away, regrouped after returning to the home stadium and played a 4-0 defeat for the Rossoneri, miraculously reversing AC Milan to reach the semi-finals, but they directly restrained the opponent by tactics, scoring in the opening five minutes, scoring two goals in the 35th and 45th minutes, and leading 3-0 in the first half.

That's the rhythm of the away comeback, but what about Ajax?

Not to mention the passive play in the first half, and a goal was scored, which further widened the score gap, how can you chase it?

"We still have the second half, and Yang Yang." Van Gaal said resolutely.

Hearing Yang Yang's name, Van Praag was a little incredulous, but he didn't refute it.

Yes, Yang Yang has become Ajax's gold medal substitute, and every time he plays, he turns the situation around.

From Club Brugge to PSV Eindhoven to Arsenal, he hasn't disappointed once.

But this time, it's Real Madrid, can he?

"Real Madrid is now strong and strong, with a lot of momentum, but the players don't run much, Zidane except for that break and assist, the whole first half was very sluggish, Ronaldo except for that assist, the whole first half was invisible, and Figo did not impress people in the whole game."

"They have a physical problem, the players can't run, so as long as we don't break up ourselves, as long as we show determination, we can definitely turn the situation around."

After a pause, Van Gaal may not be sure enough, "Even if we really have to lose and end up being eliminated, we can't lose like this." ”

Van Praag was convinced, nodding heavily.

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The first half ended with a score of 0-1.

Players from both sides walked off the pitch one after another, with the Ajax players going straight into the tunnel and heading to the dressing room.

With only 15 minutes at half-time, there wasn't much time left for them to recuperate.

Before the coaching staff left, Luther Carroll told Yang Yang to return to the locker room as soon as he was over.

"Ahead of schedule!"

Yang Yang was both excited and apprehensive, because he was originally scheduled to come on as a substitute in 60 to 65 minutes, but now it seems that he will be on at halftime.

It was clear that the 0-1 deficit had Ronald Koeman feeling the danger and fearing that he would not be able to score three goals in half an hour.

When running to the sidelines to warm up, Yang Yang met the superstars of Real Madrid who walked down from the field, and he took the initiative to greet each other, but several superstars looked weak, Zidane and Figo looked even haggard, didn't even say a word, and walked directly past Yang Yang.

As they passed by, Yang Yang could detect their heavy gasps.

As a player, Yang Yang is too familiar with this kind of breathing, combined with their faces, expressions and responses, Yang Yang can basically be sure that the coaching staff's pre-game preparation is not wrong at all, and they can't hold on to the whole game.

Even, if there is no halftime, I am afraid that they will not be able to hold it up now.

Before the season, he was busy panning for gold in Asia, missed the physical reserve period, and after that, there was no good rotation mechanism, and the La Liga media even nicknamed Queiroz's starting lineup "Twelve Oceans", which means that he only used those twelve players.

It's April now, and it's completely normal to be out of fitness at this time.

After discovering this, Yang Yang was ecstatic in his heart, immediately returned to the locker room, and after pushing the door in, he happened to see head coach Ronald Koeman cheering for his teammates, and he immediately told the head coach and teammates about his discovery.

"Really?" The teammates were shocked.

"Absolutely." Yang Yang replied in the affirmative.

Everyone in the locker room is starting to get ultramarine again.

Ronald Coman looked at Yang Yang gratefully, whether it was true or not, Yang Yang's words re-boosted the team's morale.