Henderson retreated to support, while Gu Ran started to move forward at high speed.

Van Dijk made a precise short pass to Henderson, and after Henderson got the ball, he immediately made a long pass behind the Ajax defense! This pass was very sudden!

Ajax's overall formation was still accelerating forward and there was no time to turn around.

And at the moment Henderson kicked the ball, Gu Ran rushed across the center line and caught up with Henderson's pass without being offside!

In just this moment, Gu Ran completed the defensive counterattack! Gu Ran had a one-on-one chance! After Gu Ran got the ball, he accelerated madly, directly leaving the Ajax defenders who had just stopped and turned behind him several steps behind.

Seeing this, the Ajax goalkeeper immediately rushed out for a one-on-one interception, trying to buy more time for his teammates.

However, Gu Ran used a skillful pendulum dribble to easily get past the Ajax goalkeeper, and then faced the empty goal with a powerful shot - the ball went in!

Less than 5 minutes into the first half, Southampton scored the first goal through an extremely brilliant defensive counterattack and hit Ajax from behind! The score on the big screen was immediately changed to Southampton 1:0 Ajax.

The Ajax players were all stunned! The Ajax fans were all stunned!

The Southampton fans cheered wildly! It was thought that in this game, Ajax was suppressing Southampton, but no one expected that Ajax's all-out attack and defense would have such a big loophole in front of Gu Ran! Gu Ran's sprint speed was too fast! Ajax players were all very fast, but in front of Gu Ran, the speed of Ajax players was nothing.

Southampton used the defensive counterattack strategy and Gu Ran's speed to catch Ajax off guard.

The Ajax players finally understood what a center forward position meant - Gu Ran was a center forward position. Gu Ran's starting position was always at the backcourt defensive midfielder, but when the offense began to shift, Gu Ran would instantly appear at the center forward position.

This kind of B2B approach is really very counterproductive to Ajax's all-out attack and defense model.

After a brief celebration, the Southampton team immediately returned to their respective positions.

After all, Ajax is not an easy team to deal with. This kind of counterattack from behind can only catch the opponent off guard. Once Ajax starts to pay attention, there will be fewer opportunities to attack from behind.

Southampton still focuses on defense.

Ajax pressed forward cautiously.

The two sides engaged in fierce physical confrontation in the midfield and Southampton's backcourt.

Ajax is at a disadvantage in physical confrontation with Southampton, but it must be said that Ajax's coordination and individual skills in a small range are absolutely top-notch in Europe.

In contrast, Southampton's overall individual technical level is very poor.

If it weren't for the excellent performances of Gu Ran and Van Dijk, Ajax would have seized the opportunity to equalize or even surpass the score.

Under the strong pressure from Ajax, Southampton had almost no strength to fight back and could only defend with all their might.

In the 17th minute of the game, Ajax captain and midfielder Siem de Jong made a beautiful short arc pass, accurately passing it to Soleimani who was running to an open position. After Soleimani got the ball, he turned around and shot like a waltz!

This ball was a sudden shot from outside the penalty area! There was a very small gap in the defense between Rudiger and Jaidi, and the ball flew straight in through this gap! Davis subconsciously jumped up to block it, but it was too late.

If both sides continue to play like this, the result of the game will definitely not be just 1:1.

The game continues!

Both sides were fully into the game. Ajax continued to exert their strength, while Gu Ran was sprinting back and forth between the backcourt and midfield as if his life depended on it.

With Gu Ran's threat in the middle, Ajax's attack became much more cautious, fearing that Gu Ran would seize the opportunity to attack from behind again.

Then, what you fear will come true.

In the 29th minute, Gu Ran and Mikel teamed up to intercept Sime de Jong's pass to striker Ebisilio. Gu Ran immediately started to move forward at high speed after getting the ball! Ajax players also immediately counterattacked on the spot, ready to strangle Gu Ran.

However, Gu Ran first used his body to take down two Ajax midfielders, created a gap, and then before more Ajax players rushed up to form an encirclement, he kicked the ball to the left.

Chamberlain on the left was not offside! After seeing Gu Ran pass the ball, Chamberlain immediately accelerated and rushed to meet the ball.

The Ajax players immediately complained of a headache!

Although Chamberlain's speed is not as fast as Gu Ran, Ajax's strength on the wing is almost zero!

Moreover, even if Chamberlain is not as fast as Gu Ran, he is already a first-class winger. The Ajax players can only bite the bullet and try their best to chase back and block him.

Chamberlain dribbled the ball down the line in one breath, and the Ajax players chasing behind were only two body lengths away from catching him.

Chamberlain was not at all flustered. He made a fake move of cutting inside with the ball, tricking the pursuing Ajax players into moving inside. Then Chamberlain created space and made a precise return pass, sending the ball to the top of the penalty area.

At this moment, all Ajax players have chased back into the penalty area!

After all, Ajax, who plays an all-out offense and defense, has an extremely fast pace whether attacking or defending.

Chamberlain's pass back was equivalent to attacking them from behind again.

Before the Ajax players could stop and turn around to block, Gu Ran, who was running from the backcourt, met the ball that was knocked back. He didn't even stop the ball, but jumped up with both feet off the ground and volleyed it in the air with a scissor kick! The ball fell straight into the net like a heavy artillery shell with electromagnetic boost!

The Ajax goalkeeper hit the post directly! The ball went in! The Southampton fans at the scene cheered wildly! This shot was so beautiful! Not only was the scissor kick volley outside the penalty area domineering, but the inverted triangle cooperation between Chamberlain and Gu Ran, who "passed everyone twice", was so classic!

It can be said that Ajax played a wonderful all-out attack and defense and passing and controlling flow.

Southampton played a wonderful defensive counterattack! The score on the big screen changed to Southampton 2:1 Ajax!

The game continues!

...(End of this chapter)