On the afternoon of September 23, at the Philips Stadium in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Eindhoven head coach Mark van Bommel stood anxiously on the touchline, watching the match that was about to begin.
It was the marquee fixture of round six of the Eredivisie, with Eindhoven hosting Ajax.
Both teams had won their first five matches of the season. Eindhoven topped the table on goal difference, with Ajax level on points just behind them.
Although the league season had only just begun, everyone knew that Ajax and Eindhoven were the only two serious contenders for this season's Eredivisie title. The leading favorites were Yang Yang's Ajax.
Playing at home against his biggest title rival, Van Bommel had nowhere to retreat.
Unlike three days earlier at the Camp Nou, where he had deployed a cautious 4-2-3-1, Van Bommel opted for an attacking 4-3-3 at home tonight, making it clear that he intended to take Ajax head-on.
Ajax also lined up in a 4-3-3 tonight. But while Eindhoven stuck with their first-choice lineup, Yang Yang once again rotated his squad, which rather surprised Van Bommel.
Onana remained in goal, with Jorge Costa, Militão, De Ligt, and Dumfries across the back. Schöne and Rosario were the double defensive midfielders, with Van de Beek ahead of them, while Malen, Jović, and Ødegaard formed the attacking trident.
The goalkeeper, center backs, and center forward remained unchanged, but every other position had been rotated. The changes were extensive.
Van Bommel found this deeply puzzling, because in his estimation, Ajax were nowhere near strong enough to do this.
What gave Yang Yang the confidence to make such sweeping changes at the Philips Stadium?
Did he really think so little of Eindhoven?
The thought inevitably stirred anger in Van Bommel.
At the Camp Nou, Eindhoven had been thrashed