“Real also created a numerical advantage thanks to Benzema dropping deep. We had to prevent him from receiving the ball. In modern football, everything relies on managing the ball, losing possession, and transitions." “Everyone was eager to get on the field. Everyone was ready, excited, confident, and fired up by the magnitude of the matchup. I could sense the team’s energy. In the 4th minute, Raphaël Varane hit the crossbar with a header off a corner kick by Lucas Vázquez, but nobody panicked. On their corner kicks, we’d decided to leave two players high up the field to force them to stay with three at the back. We had good players in the air to defend, like Matthijs de Ligt.” "It was euphoric in the dressing room. Everyone was dancing and singing. I had encouraged my players to go and share this moment with the fans, this historic victory for Ajax. Almost no one believed we could do it, but our 4,000 supporters did. We owed them this moment. As for me, I didn't go. I never do. I feel it's not my place in those moments."   submitted by   /u/Sparky-moon [link]   [comments]