God of Greenery

After the match against Utrecht, Jiang Xiaolin led Alkmaar to a 3-1 victory in the away game with two goals and one assist, and continued to receive heavy reports and praises from media around the world.

Because his Eredivisie league goal record has been refreshed to a terrifying 49, and he is only one goal away from the 50-goal mark.

And for these 49 balls, Jiang Xiaolin only used 21 games, which is absolutely jaw-dropping.

This game against Utrecht is the 27th round of the Eredivisie, and there are 7 more rounds in the Eredivisie this season.

No matter how many goals Jiang Xiaolin can score, both the media and the fans expressed their expectations.

Presumably, every league game in Alkmaar in the future, even if it is not a key game, will receive more and more attention and reports.

After playing the league game with Utrecht, Alkmaar trained at his base for two days, and then departed for St. Petersburg, Russia, to complete the routine away game in the second round of the UEFA Cup quarter-finals.

In fact, Jiang Xiaolin was the only main player going to St. Petersburg this time, and all the other main players were left at the base by Van Gaal to recuperate, preparing for the next league game against giants Feyenoord.

The 5-0 victory in the first round gave Alkmaar and Van Gaal sufficient confidence.

In fact, even without Jiang Xiaolin, Van Gaal did not think that Zenit St. Petersburg could come back in the second round.

It's just that it's safer to bring Jiang Xiaolin with you!
Van Gaal's plan was to let Jiang Xiaolin play, as long as Jiang Xiaolin scored an away goal, he would replace Jiang Xiaolin.

Because Zenit St. Petersburg did not score an away goal at the AFAS Stadium in the first round, as long as Alkmaar scored an away goal at the St. Petersburg Stadium in the second round, it would be a good goal.

Although the score will be 6-0 at that time, Zenit St. Petersburg needs to score 7 goals to eliminate Alkmaar.

That is really a fantasy.

Not to mention Zenit St. Petersburg, even Barcelona can't beat Alkmaar 7-0.

Therefore, Van Gaal brought Jiang Xiaolin just to bring a surefire insurance and deterrent force!
You know, even if Jiang Xiaolin doesn't score a goal, he can still suppress the opponent's attack, making the opponent's backcourt players dare not give it a go.

This is the strategic significance of Van Gaal not bringing anyone else, but only bringing Jiang Xiaolin as the main force.

As for Zenit St. Petersburg, even though they knew that Alkmaar only had a group of substitutes, they obviously underestimated Zenit, but their media and fans did not make any big claims after all.

Facing the ending of five goals behind in the first round, no matter what slogans or big words they shouted, they will only appear to be more mentally handicapped!
The second round of the quarter-final match seemed calm before the match.

But in fact, according to the nature of the fighting nation, even if they know they have lost, they still want to bite off a piece of the other party's flesh!
If you lose, you have to lose in an upright manner. You can't completely shave your head in two rounds!

因此，3月19日傍晚18:30，这场2008/2009赛季联盟杯八分之一决赛第二回合圣彼得堡泽尼特VS阿尔克马尔的比赛在圣彼得堡体育场正式开打后，泽尼特并没有放弃式的跟阿尔克马尔磨洋工。

They used their main force and began to attack aggressively from the first minute of the game, leaving only two central defenders on the defense line to intercept Jiang Xiaolin.

In fact, they don't care about the effect.

They didn't want to achieve a super reversal when they were five goals behind. They just wanted to fight in an upright manner, and they didn't want to be crushed to death without saying a word!
They want to score goals and save face!
As for whether Jiang Xiaolin will score a goal or expand the score to make them even more desperate, they simply can't care so much!

As the defending champions, anyway, they don't accept being eliminated from the UEFA Cup without scoring a goal in the quarter-finals!

The choice of Zenit St. Petersburg was beyond the expectations of Van Gaal and Alkmaar players, and it really caught the opponent by surprise at the beginning of the game.

Even though they knew they would lose, more than 6 people came to the St. Petersburg Stadium, which can accommodate more than 4 people.

Amidst the cheers and cheers of more than 4 home fans, Zenit St. Petersburg launched a fierce offensive towards Alkmaar's penalty area and goal from the very beginning of the game.

On Alkmaar's side, except for Jiang Xiaolin, the other 10 players, including the goalkeeper, are all regular substitute players. Regardless of their personal strength or teamwork, they are far behind the main lineup.

So, in the 4th minute of the opening, Zenit full-back Daniel passed the ball at a 45-degree angle from the front side. Forward Deji succeeded in the header in the penalty area and almost headed the ball into the goal guarded by Didulica. .

Fortunately, Deji hit the ball at a slightly right angle and was blocked by Didulica's subconscious wave. Then the ball bounced to the lower edge of the crossbar and bounced back to the ground before being held down by Didulica.

In the 7th minute, Zenit's long-range shot from outside the penalty area caused another corner kick.

But for this corner kick attack, although Jiang Xiaolin also returned to the penalty area to participate in the defense, but the ball landed too far away from him, Jiang Xiaolin could only watch helplessly as the opponent's central defender Kanisin Naxi dominated the crowd. After the penalty area, he successfully competed for the top and headed the ball into Alkmaar's goal.

Zenit St. Petersburg took a 1-0 lead at home and tied the total score of the two rounds to 1-5.

This goal caused the entire St. Petersburg Stadium to explode instantly.

Although still four goals behind, although the hope of a comeback is still very slim, but after all, after scoring the first goal, he will not be shaved again.

Therefore, both Zenit players and fans celebrated fiercely.

In addition, although the gap is still very large, the hope of a comeback is still extremely small, but after all the gap is narrowing. Whether it is a player or a fan, it is inevitable that the ambition of a comeback will grow in their hearts.

You know, Alkmaar's game is full of substitutes except for Jiang Xiaolin. The other main players didn't even come to the bench, and they all stayed in the Netherlands.

Under such circumstances, is it possible for Zenit to try a miracle?

Whether it succeeds or not, it is never wrong to try.

Therefore, after scoring the first goal, the morale of the Zenit St. Petersburg players was immediately boosted, and they continued to bombard Alkmaar's penalty area and goal indiscriminately by virtue of the advantages of starting with all the main players and playing at home.

On Alkmaar's side, despite the defense with a shrinking formation, there are always some problems with the players' personal strength and lack of coordination, which makes Alkmaar's goal always seem a little dangerous.

Fortunately, Zenit St. Petersburg does not have Jiang Xiaolin.

Not to mention that they have achieved it, their players' shooting skills are not as good as those of Omi Kobayashi, otherwise they would have been poached by the five major leagues.

Therefore, although Zenit St. Petersburg got a lot of shooting opportunities due to the decline in Alkmaar's defensive strength, they have not been able to score the second goal.

Even if you get a chance to shoot, it's not because the angle is too straight and the goalkeeper Didulica easily confiscates it.

Half an hour had passed since the first goal, and it was not until the 39th minute that Zenit St. Petersburg scored the second goal with difficulty.

Moreover, this second ball is also of great luck.

This is an inverted triangle pass from Zenit after breaking through the bottom from the wing. Zenit's midfielder Shienlov from outside the penalty area took a strong long shot from outside the top of the penalty area. Dulica has already rushed in the direction of the ball's flight.

Judging from the ball path and Didulica's saving action, the ball will definitely be caught by Didulica, and it is impossible to score.

Unexpectedly, when the ball flew into the penalty area, Alkmaar's defender Moisander flew from the side to block the hole of the gun, but failed to block it.

The ball just rubbed against his leg and changed its direction slightly, but it didn't go wide of the goal, and continued to change its direction and fly towards the goal.

But for goalkeeper Didulica, this one was more cheating, which caught him off guard.

Didulica, who had already made a save, could only watch helplessly as the ball brushed against Moisander's leg and flew into the goal from behind him.

Although it was a dribble, the players and fans of Zenit St. Petersburg celebrated enthusiastically.

After all, they had already pulled back two goals and were only three goals away.

Three goals behind looks a lot more promising than five goals behind.

Although there is still very little hope.

Therefore, after this celebration, the Zenit players attacked even more violently.

When they think about it, if they score another goal, the 3-5 gap will not be so far away, and it is still possible to complete the miracle of comeback.

Therefore, after the game restarted, they all forgot about Jiang Xiaolin's existence, and all the players overwhelmed the center line, bombarding Alkmaar's penalty area and goal indiscriminately.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that Jiang Xiaolin did not score a goal in the first half, and even most of the time Jiang Xiaolin returned to the defense outside the penalty area to participate in the defense.

It wasn't that Jiang Xiaolin didn't want to counterattack, but that it was really difficult for his teammates to pass him a threatening pass.

In fact, in the first half, Jiang Xiaolin ran a lot of gaps, and there were two successful anti-offsides, but the pass from his teammates did not pass in time, resulting in missed opportunities.

Or sometimes even if the ball is passed, because the passing technique is much worse than that of a main teammate like Marten Martens, the pass is not in place.

Coupled with the gap in running coordination, Jiang Xiaolin failed to score in the first half.

But this doesn't mean that Jiang Xiaolin is completely harmless.

Even without the assistance of his teammates, Jiang Xiaolin was capable of scoring goals alone, but he didn't seize the opportunity in the first half.

After all, Zenit still has two central defenders dragging behind to prevent him from counterattacking.

But in the last few minutes of the first half, because Zenit scored the second goal, they seemed a little too excited, and the overall formation was pressed even higher. The whole team was almost crazy and invested in the attack. Some of them forgot about Jiang Xiaolin's threat.

So, when the time came to the 44th minute, when Jiang Xiaolin suddenly made a long-distance attack, Zenit St. Petersburg was caught off guard.

This is also a frontcourt attack of Zenit St. Petersburg, but because the ball was not passed into the penalty area for a long time, even the back line has already passed the center line, helping to pass and cut the running position, trying to tear Alkmaar's back with the pass line of defense.

However, Jiang Xiaolin also participated in the defense in the backcourt.Moreover, his positioning attributes are at full value, and he is very proficient in how to destroy the opponent's passing intentions and passing routes.

Jiang Xiaolin's stance is inconspicuous, he doesn't need to steal the ball directly from the opponent's feet, and Jiang Xiaolin doesn't have the stealing skills, so many times the opponent's offensive players will ignore Jiang Xiaolin's existence, thinking that he is just a positive response. It's nothing more than a striker who defends and defends with his eyes.

But this time, Zenit St. Petersburg suffered such a loss.

When they were passing, the defensive midfielder Danisov couldn't find the place to get the ball under the close pressure of Alkmaar's substitute striker Ali, so he hurriedly turned around and passed the ball to the midfield.

His purpose is to pass to the central defender Kanisinah, and he wants Kanisinah to make a transition, pass the ball to the other side or cooperate with him to get past Ali.

Unexpectedly, his pass was light this time.

What's more deadly is that when he was forced by Ali, Jiang Xiaolin's full-value positioning attributes had already played a role.

Jiang Xiaolin had a premonition that he might pass the ball back to the central defender Kanishinahi, so he moved ahead of time, standing unobtrusively but enough to cut off the passing route of Danisov and Kanishinahi on the point.

As a result, as soon as Danisov's pass was passed, Jiang Xiaolin on the side grabbed the ball and intercepted it.

Seeing that the ball passed to him by his teammate was intercepted by Jiang Xiaolin halfway, Kanishinahi naturally rushed to intercept it in shock, but Jiang Xiaolin immediately made a decisive pass, wading the ball past him, and then Passed by him again, and passed Kanisinnahi with a fast man ball.

After that things are easy.

Although the other central defender Vidic Sher immediately rushed over diagonally to try to intercept, Jiang Xiaolin was much faster than him.

After crossing the middle circle, Jiang Xiaolin used his speed to overtake Vidic Sheer abruptly, and caught up with the ball he waded out, forming a single-handedly going to the meeting.

Amidst the horrified boos of Zenit fans in St. Petersburg, Jiang Xiaolin, who was advancing at full speed with the ball, rushed to the outside of the penalty area and easily shot a shot against the attacking goalkeeper Malafev.

The ball went over Malafife's head and landed in the goal ahead of Vidic Shire, who was desperately trying to make a goal-line save.

In the 44th minute of the first half, Jiang Xiaolin scored his first goal of the game at the St. Petersburg Stadium, which was also Alkmaar's first away goal.

Alkmaar led Zenit St. Petersburg 1-2 in the second round and 6-2 in the two rounds.

The point is, Jiang Xiaolin's goal gave Alkmaar an away goal advantage.