"Millwall took the lead to break the deadlock! Henry opened the scoring, and he set a new European goal record! Millwall's offense was too difficult to guard against. When Kaka rushed up, the consequences of his acceleration and impact were fundamental to the opponent.
If you can't keep up with his rhythm, and with a superstar like Ronaldinho who passes the ball accurately, Millwall can do whatever they want on the offensive end, as long as they have space!"
Rijkaard's expression didn't change much, maybe he had already realized it!
After all, if Barcelona goes against their accustomed techniques and tactics and uses a conservative strategy to deal with Millwall, they themselves may not be able to adapt to it, which may cause Barcelona to be eliminated in a very frustrating and useless way.
Whether you can advance to the quarterfinals or not depends on your offense!
Puyol, the new leader of the defense, pulled Edmilson to his side and reminded him solemnly: We must ensure the tightness of the defensive triangle!
Compared with the teams that Millwall played against before, Barcelona's current players have also undergone many changes.
For example, Giuly, Eto'o, Edmilson, Belletti, Marcos, etc. These are all players who have never played against Millwall before, and they have only really fought on the field and been immersed in it.
, to be able to discover problems that were not anticipated when preparing for the game.
They are correcting themselves, adapting to the game to adjust their defensive strategies and improve their defensive quality.
Barcelona's adjustments have initially yielded results. Marcos, Puyol, and Edmilson have protected the fan-shaped areas inside and outside the penalty area very well, but they still have not solved the problem on the offensive end and cannot do better in the final pass. Players
Movement does not create great opportunities.
Millwall responds to Barcelona's defensive adjustments. The offensive end will naturally make corresponding adjustments.
They strengthened their long-range shots from outside the penalty area and used frequent lateral transfers in front of the penalty area to open up space.
When the shooting angle appears, take a long shot diagonally toward the goal outside the penalty area.
In the 33rd minute of the first half, Cristiano Ronaldo moved from the back position on the right to the center. Ronaldinho and Kaká continued to cross the ball in the center. With the support of Henry in the front, Nedvěd in the back and Ram on the wing, they passed the ball continuously.
Attracting Barcelona's defensive focus, Lahm finally made a diagonal pass in the front of the midfield and sent the ball to Ronaldo's feet.
Edmilson did not dare to save, and Xavi's position was relatively far away. Van Bronckhorst followed a beat late, and Iniesta was thrown away when Ronaldo started.
Outside the penalty area, diagonally opposite the goal, Cristiano Ronaldo kicked off a kick that shocked the world!
The ball flew straight to the upper left corner of the goal, piercing Barcelona's defense like an arrow from a bow, and ran into the blind spot of the goal!
Cristiano Ronaldo ran around the field with open arms, full of passion!
"Millwall expanded the score and led Barcelona 2:0! Their offensive methods are so rich, dribbling breakthroughs, team passing and cutting cooperation, individual long shots, etc. They are omnipotent on the offensive end! Barcelona is very brave, but
.It is difficult for them to restrict Millwall from doing whatever they want in front of them!"
At this moment, far away in North America, a Barcelona legend is watching the Champions League 1/8 finals in front of the TV.
Surprisingly, it is Guardiola who plans to announce his retirement this year.
He was studying for a coaching certificate and carefully read the game between Barcelona and Millwall.
After Barcelona conceded the second goal, Guardiola was shocked and shaken.
He understands that Barcelona's offense seems to have an advantage, but it does not have absolute control over the overall game. It is this uncontrollable environment that gives Millwall the basis for unscrupulous attacks!
The passionate Dutch offensive football philosophy seems to be even more irrational than England's crushing rhythm.
On the other hand, Millwall is also full of passion. There is no trace of their offensive performance. There is no established pattern. Their players can appear in any area of the frontcourt. However, behind this "disordered freedom", there is no trace of their performance.
It allows people to intuitively feel the powerful "rational" support.
For example, the roles played by players during offense, the tasks they undertake, and the contributions they make. In fact, it is not difficult to find this as long as you do not rigidly examine players by area. In defense, Millwall always maintains a strong focus on the midfield and backfield.
Strong support, players all perform their duties, operation is smooth, and the integrity is very tight.
Guardiola took out his notebook and began to take notes, thinking and observing everything he witnessed, trying to create his own football philosophy.
...
At the Lion King Stadium, Barcelona already smelled death before halftime.
Two goals behind, Rijkaard felt a sense of powerlessness throughout his body.
Fighting the whole against the whole, Barcelona is no match for Millwall!
Under such circumstances, we can only hope that individual players can perform exceptionally well.
Does this go against Rijkaard’s coaching philosophy?
Abandon the whole and rely on individual players?
No, it's not contradictory at all.
It can even be said to be the essence of the "sword fight" within Dutch football.
For example, Michels, the father of total offense, has repeatedly emphasized the importance of tactics, but some Dutch colleagues pointedly pointed out: without Cruyff and the Dutch geniuses of his generation, your total offense would be nothing but words on paper!
Yes, the Dutch football philosophy of attacking promotes the whole, but it is always difficult to justify: why at critical moments, the role of individual heroism always seems more convincing than team effort!
As a whole, Barcelona couldn't compete, and their players on the field could feel it themselves, so it became a reflexive choice to proactively use their personal abilities.
The result really allowed them to score a goal!
In the 41st minute of the first half, Deco passed the ball to Eto'o who was retreating. The moment Eto'o stopped the ball, he wanted to complete the pass, but his decision to move the ball forward was penetrated by Silva.
!
Silva extended his foot to intercept. It seemed that the first contact was successful. He touched the ball, but the ball was not intercepted cleanly. The ball rebounded on Eto'o's leg and rolled behind Silva.
Silva, who lost his center of gravity behind his feet, seemed to have been hit by Eto'o, who quickly rushed behind Silva!
Although the pass seemed to be stumbling and there was a certain amount of luck involved, Eto'o just passed it!
Nesta had to rush over quickly to cover the defense, but Nesta's speed was really far behind Eto'o. Eto'o came directly from the penalty area and sent the ball in with a precise low shot.
Inside the far post of the goal!
"Barcelona pulled one back near the end of the first half. This goal was entirely due to Eto'o's personal ability. Thiago Silva was very angry about the goal. He lowered his head and chattered something, and shook his head slightly.
."
At this time, Aldridge waved his hand in the direction of Silva from the sidelines, meaning that he didn't have to worry about it.
There is no team in the world that never concedes goals. Silva's mistake was not a low-level mistake, but it was definitely a small mistake. The ball was not stolen cleanly, and it was also related to the opponent's ability. Eto'o is not a nobody.
The first half ended with Millwall 2:1 Barcelona.
Aldridge did not go back to the locker room immediately. He and his colleagues on the coaching staff went to the corner of the corridor to smoke a cigarette.
Comprehensive coaching staff’s insights into the game.
Aldridge made tactical adjustments at halftime.
Barcelona's defensive triangle pays more attention to the protection of the fan area in front of the goal. To break this point, Millwall must make some changes on the front line in addition to long-range shots.
In the second half, Millwall changed their formation, at least it seemed to be an asymmetrical one-sided 433.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Henry play as a double forward in the penalty area, Ronaldinho and Kaká are the second echelon, delivering cannonballs for them from behind, and wing assists rely more on the insertion of full-backs.
Rijkaard saw Millwall's adjustments in the second half. He thought Millwall's killer move would be to strengthen the impact of Ronaldo and Henry in the dangerous areas of the penalty area, but he guessed wrong!
One of the main tasks of Henry and Ronaldo is to increase the defensive pressure on Marcos and Puyol and distract them!
Then, the real killer move is in the back row!
Kaka, Ronaldinho?
No, this is too obvious.
Harvey can assist into the frontcourt, and Millwall can naturally press forward more aggressively in the corresponding position.
It's just that the old and strong Nedved is now doing nothing but becoming a blockbuster!
In the 59th minute of the second half, Lahm made a pass from the wing. Nedvěd, who came in from the back row, was unmarked and jumped high in the penalty area. His majesty was still the same as before. The blond God of War headed the ball firmly and scored.
The gate guarded by Valdez!
Aldrich saw Nedvěd scoring from the sidelines and waved his fists excitedly.
Rijkaard lowered his head and hid his face on the sidelines. In his heart, he felt that Aldrich was like a poisonous snake, which made his hair stand on end. He was either inadvertently paralyzing his opponent, or hiding his trump card for a fatal blow in the vigorous scene!
If the score of 2:1 can make Barcelona calm down for a while, then the score of 3:1 and the passage of game time will make Barcelona lose some composure.
In terms of team temperament, Barcelona also lost to Millwall. Now Millwall, under the guidance of Aldridge, never panics even if there is little time left, and it is almost impossible to see them losing their minds.
Barcelona, on the other hand, showed their anxiety and always wanted to replicate the goals with their personal abilities, but Millwall did not give them any chance. As Barcelona's personal breakthroughs frequently failed, they lost the ball more and more times, and Millwall lost more and more possessions.
Millwall's offense was even more threatening. In the frequent rhythm changes, Millwall received the ball after Kaka passed in the 80th minute, crossed the ball, broke through, and entered the penalty area in one go, completing the goal!
The first leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals between Millwall and Barcelona at the Lion King Stadium ended with a 4:1 victory for the defending champion. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!
