Ajax Came from Behind to Beat Juventus 3–1 Away!
They had mounted comebacks in both legs, winning each 3–1 for a 6–2 aggregate score. Ajax advanced to the Champions League semifinals!
The news quickly sent shockwaves around the world.
Countless media outlets and fans sang the praises of this team from the Eredivisie, expressing tremendous admiration for Yang Yang's coaching ability. More importantly, even while displaying astonishing coaching prowess, Yang Yang's performances on the pitch were no less impressive.
In this season's Champions League, Yang Yang had scored eleven goals, level with Messi. The latter had only narrowly caught up after scoring a brace in the second leg. Yang Yang, meanwhile, had not played against Juventus.
Anyone could see that Yang Yang was the true core of this Ajax team.
Every one of his eleven goals had been crucial.
By eliminating Cristiano Ronaldo in the quarterfinals, Yang Yang had completely knocked the Portuguese out of the Champions League, ending his hopes of winning the Champions League title and, in effect, severing his desire to claim the highest individual honor.
After the match, Cristiano Ronaldo had even lost control and cried.
He had wanted that honor far too badly.
He had left Barcelona for Juventus precisely because he wanted to make another push for individual honors near the end of his career.
But he had never expected reality to be so cruel, allowing Yang Yang—his lifelong rival—to suppress him completely once again, in a different way.
It was not that Cristiano Ronaldo had performed poorly. After Juventus lost the first leg of the round of sixteen 2–0 to Atletico Madrid, he scored a hat-trick in the second leg and led Juventus to a stunning comeback.
Against Ajax in the quarterfinals, he scored in both matches and delivered an excellent performance.
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