Chapter 194. Missed opportunities
Stadio Gerredom, home of Vitesse.
After a week of recuperation, Vitesse will face league leaders Ajax who have been in good form since the start of the second half of the season!
"Ajax is currently at the top of the league standings, with 48 points giving them seven points ahead of second-place FC Twente, just over halfway through the league, Ajax began to exert strength, but it was his opponents, after a strong performance in the early stages of the league, the form has more or less declined, and some teams have even fallen off a cliff, which has also allowed Ajax to gradually sit in the first place in the league."
Wright said as he looked at the record table in his hand, and it was needless to say who had fallen off a cliff. At this time, in front of the TV camera, Vitesse's recent results were also played, and the red color block representing the loss was very conspicuous.
"That's right, Vitesse have been in a really bad state lately, they have not won four games in a row, and they have lost three of those games, I thought that after the start of the second half of the season, Vitesse's form will improve, but I didn't expect their form to be as bad as ever!"
Vanderst still appreciates Vitesse's performance this season, and he also hopes that coach Luten can bring the team out of the doldrums as soon as possible.
Although the home team's recent performance has not been good, but here, Vitesse's home stadium, the fans are still trying to cheer for their players, the game has not even started, the fans on the field have begun to play the crowd, and the team's mighty battle song has not stopped for a moment.
Away team locker room.
"In this game, remember to be careful of the opponent's counterattack, their speed is very fast, don't easily concede the ball to give the opponent a chance to counterattack!"
Before taking the pitch, Frank de Boer kept reminding his players that Vitesse's counter-attacking speed is always a huge threat, which is also a very important factor in the opponent's rise this season.
And when he actually arrived on the court and after the game began, Li Lin felt a familiar feeling, as if he had watched this episode.
"Coming back?"
Li Lin held the ball a little unpleasantly, looked at the players of Vitesse who were guarding in front of him, sighed softly, and then returned the ball to Eriksen.
This does not bode well for Ajax, who are the ones who often win on counter-attacks, but now that more and more teams are starting to use stubborn tactics against Ajax, it will be much more difficult for them to win.
Not to mention that the opponent is still the top four teams in the league, such a team with a solid defense and sharp counterattacks immediately showed a very strong power when they put up the bus. Ajax haven't been able to create any threat yet, and they've already had two very dangerous counter-attacks!
Lu Teng stood on the sidelines, a little nervous and relaxed a little, and the team's performance made him feel relieved. In his bones, Lu Teng is a coach who advocates offense, but if you want to win, you must play utilitarian, and defensive counterattack is the most utilitarian but most efficient way to play against a team that is stronger than yourself.
On the other side, Frank de Boer stood on the sidelines for a moment before sitting back on his own. He's a little irritable now. Lu Teng actually started a defensive counterattack unusually, which caught him a little off guard, although he knew that the opponent would spare no effort to defeat him, but he still did not expect that Lu Teng would give up his previous offensive tactics, which required a lot of courage.
De Boer frowned, he could already sense that this match was going to be a very tough one.
On the field, Li Lin was very active in the front court, trying his best to connect the team's offense, but the effect was very average.
glanced at his former teammate Jensen who was blocking in front of him, and Li Lin, who was holding the ball in the middle, suddenly got up to speed!
"After Li Lin got the ball, he suddenly accelerated and tried to pass the veteran Jensen, but Jensen was very experienced, he did not lose his position, and used his body to stop Li Lin's attempt to cut inside, and at the same time constantly squeezed Li Lin out, the role of this veteran!"
Li Lin had to admit that Jensen's defense made him feel a little tricky, and his sudden start did not make Jensen panic, but he saw through his intentions for the first time.
The two of them kept tugging on their hands, and the numerous defensive players made Li Lin have to slow down, and also allowed Jensen to make better use of his body, and after continuous confrontations, Li Lin was a little overwhelmed.
"Sure enough, the body is still weak, even if it is such a veteran, I will suffer if I fight physically!"
Li Lin muttered in his heart, and passed the ball to the coming up Shenei at his feet.
Schöne took the ball and took two steps to cross directly, and this time the ball was kicked with very high quality, flying towards De Jong in the box.
"Mine!"
De Jong's eyes lit up when he saw the ball, he held his breath, his body tensed, and then he jumped high to fight for the ball.
This time, the opponent's central defender Kashya was pressed under De Jong and was completely unable to stop De Jong's header!
"Opportunity! De Jong receives a cross from Schinee in the box and heads it in! Let's see what Viltuitsyn will do with this very close shot! ”
Wiltuitzen's attention was highly focused at this time, and at the moment of De Jong's header, he made a judgment with his legs slammed on the ground, jumped up in the air, and raised his left hand high, trying to block this powerful header!
"Smack!"
The touch from his hand made Viltuizen happy, and he subconsciously looked up, only to see that the ball was blocked and flew to the edge of the penalty area!
Van der Heiden, another central defender of Vitesse, rushed up at this time to try to clear the ball, but a figure took the lead in grabbing control of the ball at this time!
Li Lin!
Li Lin, who had already been aimed, appeared in the position where he should have appeared, and got the ball first, but Van der Heiden was not stupid, he understood that he couldn't let Li Lin take the ball in this position, he simply didn't control his speed, and if he didn't get the ball, he would directly knock Li Lin to the ground!
Li Lin, who had just gotten the ball, only felt that Van der Heiden's entire body was pressed on his body, and in desperation, Li Lin flicked the ball to the side before falling to the ground!
Li Lin didn't know if there was anyone on that side, but it was the only thing he could do.
Referee Nehus had already picked up his whistle at this time, ready to award a foul on Van der Hayden, but the ball from Li Lin was still picked up by the Ajax player.
At the moment when the opposing defender was about to clear the ball, Eriksen, who came up from behind, directly kicked it around!
The ball contracted briefly and then flew out of the air, flying in a somewhat manic arc.
"Boom!"
A huge crash resounded across the pitch, and Eriksen's shot hit the crossbar of the goal hard and flew off the line!
Eriksen shook his head in disappointment, the shot was really close to the goal.
Vitesse's defenders breathed a sigh of relief, as the game had only been going on for 10 minutes, and it would have been too bad if the opposition had scored at this time. Fortunately, Eriksen was not able to score this goal!