Ajax eliminated Barcelona 7–0 on aggregate, sending shockwaves throughout the world.
Countless media outlets and fans were vying to sing Yang Yang's praises, especially.
In this season's Champions League, Yang Yang had already scored fifteen goals and provided five assists, almost single-handedly orchestrating most of Ajax's matches. He was undoubtedly the most important leader in the Ajax squad.
Everyone acknowledged that Yang Yang had achieved tremendous success since returning to Ajax. In particular, leading the team to the Champions League Final as both a player and Head Coach was an unprecedented achievement.
But when facing Klopp and his Liverpool, most people were not optimistic about Ajax.
The reason was simple: Liverpool were different from Barcelona.
Looking at this season's Champions League, Ajax's best performances had come against Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Both were possession-oriented teams, against whom Ajax's tireless running and coverage, along with their meticulous High Press, were most effective.
By contrast, Ajax had not played particularly well against teams like Juventus, Inter Milan, and Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham Hotspur in particular had given them trouble; Ajax had drawn both of their group-stage matches against them.
Klopp's Liverpool were stylistically very similar to Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur.
But there was one difference: Liverpool had reached the Champions League Final for two consecutive seasons. Whether in overall strength or experience, they were far more seasoned, while Ajax were a young team with an average age of around twenty.
Under these circumstances, it was only natural that the media, fans, and bookmakers favored Liverpool.
After finishing their match against Barcelona, Ajax soon returned to the Eredivisie.
On the thirty-third matchday of the Eredivisie, Ajax visited Graafschap.
Although their opponents had equalized at one point, Ajax ultimately defeated Graafschap 4–1 away from home, thanks to Malen's Brace and goals from Haaland and