The day after winning the championship, the team had a day off, but the coaching staff held a meeting in the club conference room to discuss how to face the two finals.
They have also competed in consecutive finals before, and even added league matches to continue to compete on different fronts.
But this season is different. Since the World Cup is about to take place, European competitions end earlier and the intervals between games at the end of the season are shorter.
After inspecting Liverpool's final state, Villas-Boas said unoptimistically: "We must send our main players to play, and we can't hold anything back. Liverpool has qualified for the Champions League and eliminated a strong opponent like Chelsea in the semi-finals.
, they will give everything they have for the last stop of the season! If we are a little careless, this final may encounter Waterloo and have a negative impact on the subsequent Champions League finals."
Even though Millwall is the champion in the league and Liverpool only finished fourth in the league, the number of points Liverpool scored this season is more than 80 points!
This is a point that could definitely compete for the championship in the past Premier League era. It can be seen that under the leadership of Benitez, Liverpool cannot say that it has restored its former glory. It has at least reached the peak of Liverpool in the past ten years.
Aldridge sat with his legs crossed at the top of the conference room. During the heated discussion among the coaching staff, he waved his hand to quiet the conference room and said: "There is a saying that times make heroes. If we do our job well, we can still do it."
Not enough, it depends on the current situation, whether it can create an environment for us to have many heroes, Liverpool, Chelsea. These are our familiar opponents. The worst case scenario. We can foresee it, be mentally prepared, and then wait until the reality comes.
When the time comes, let’s deal with it on the spot again.”
The problem facing Millwall is: it is easier for opponents to target them, but it is difficult for them to target their opponents!
Just like playing Chelsea in the Champions League final, what is Millwall thinking about?
Break through the dense defense!
Instead of thinking about how to limit Chelsea's offense.
In terms of posture, Chelsea is definitely conservative. In this case, it is not difficult to think about how to restrict Chelsea, but most of it is a waste of time. The opponent will not take the initiative, so what is the point of trying to restrict the opponent?
What tactics will Benitez and Mourinho use to deal with Aldrich in the game?
There was no use guessing. He could only focus on his own side. He determined the starting lineup for the two games, paid attention to the physical condition and physical condition of the players, and tried his best to combine all factors to field the strongest lineup.
May 13. Millwall and Liverpool will meet at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
In the packed stands, the passionate red color of the Red Army Liverpool fans seemed to dye the sky red, which was particularly eye-catching!
Although I have won the UEFA Cup in the past, I have never met Millwall, the European hegemon, in such a situation. Just like the improvement in status and the leap in strength, I can finally stand in front of the king, draw my sword,
Declare war!
Before the game started, Aldridge and Benitez shook hands on the sidelines. Aldridge approached Benitez and whispered: "Raphael, how about we resolve the battle within 90 minutes today?"
Benitez pushed up his glasses and replied in a deep voice: "What? Don't you think it's too late to play psychological warfare at this time?"
Aldridge shrugged and smiled nonchalantly: "I'm just telling the truth. You know, it's impossible for Millwall to spend 120 minutes against Liverpool today, let alone the heavy impact a penalty shootout will have on the players' psychology. Winning
It’s okay to say, but we really lost. Haha, are Millwall going to France on their knees to fight Chelsea again?”
These words are quite straightforward and to the point.
Benitez nodded subconsciously, and then his face became tense again, staring at Aldridge warily, with a suspicious sense of sight.
Yes, when Benitez tries to figure out his opponent's mentality, there are both good and bad factors.
How he hopes that Millwall will have a fight with Chelsea, and then Liverpool will do it again!
Regardless of the success or failure of this game, Benitez feels that he is helping Mourinho, and he and Mourinho, haha, are as bitter enemies as Ferguson and Wenger!
But there are also positive factors. After all, the Champions League is more important than the FA Cup. Millwall has ideological baggage, and Liverpool can let go of everything and go all out for this game.
"If Millwall wants to settle the battle in 90 minutes, let's give it a try."
Benitez shook off these words and turned to walk to his coaching bench.
Aldrich laughed it off.
"The 2005-2006 English FA Cup final is about to begin. This year's final will be between England's two giants, Millwall and Liverpool. Needless to say, Millwall is the world's top team, while Liverpool, as a traditional giant, has had many successes in the past.
Having failed to achieve very good results every year and missing the Champions League for a long time, when the outside world thought that Liverpool might fall into the abyss like Nottingham Forest
At that time, in the second year after Benitez took office, he finished fourth in the Premier League this season. Next season, the Red Army Liverpool will return to the Champions League! Benitez has made fans regain confidence in Liverpool. Today, it is possible for Liverpool to return to the Champions League.
The fans give a big gift: the FA Cup champion! Although Millwall will have a Champions League final five days later, as the trophy collectors, they should not let Liverpool take away the trophy easily!"
Under the spotlight, the FA Cup final officially kicked off.
Millwall launched a stormy attack from the first minute!
This surprised the outside world.
Because Millwall still has an FA Cup final to play, logically speaking, this game should be more conservative.
Aldridge held his chin high. He really couldn't let Millwall play like crazy for the whole 90 minutes. He might even fight with all his strength for 120 minutes.
He's just jumping the gun!
Set a tone for the entire game.
In the first 30 minutes, do everything you can to decide the game!
If it cannot be achieved, then we have to withdraw and fight for patience with Liverpool. As time goes by, as long as there are no physical problems, Aldridge believes that Millwall's championship temperament will definitely surpass Liverpool!
Benitez was caught off guard on the sidelines.
In fact, Aldridge said that the battle would be resolved within 90 minutes. Benitez listened to this in reverse. He even thought that Millwall would wear down Liverpool from the beginning and wait until Liverpool showed an anxious and aggressive momentum.
force.
And the tactics he formulated for Liverpool were also to get the start!
In terms of momentum, you can’t lose to the crazy lion!
Otherwise, the whole game will be under the shadow of the crazy lion!
The situation that Millwall was most worried about did not materialize.
What was the most difficult situation for Millwall in the FA Cup and Champions League finals?
Liverpool and Chelsea both have buses!
So if Millwall wants to win, it will have to put in more physical fitness and patience, and the test of mentality is very critical.
But Benitez didn't set his sights. Liverpool went head-to-head with Millwall after the opening, and the situation was even more intense!
Aldrich breathed a sigh of relief. Although the situation was not too good, it was certainly not the worst!
The scene that worried Benitez the most occurred in the 14th minute of the first half.
The sight of Millwall destroying Liverpool's defense in the league reappears!
In the 14th minute of the game, Lahm came near the midfield. After stopping the ball, he cut directly into the middle and pushed forward diagonally. This disrupted the defensive system of Liverpool's midfielder. After attracting many defensive players, he immediately handed the ball to another player.
Ronaldo on one side, at the same time, Ronaldinho pulled the side, Kaka pushed forward, but Ronaldo took the ball and also cut inside the middle and advanced diagonally.
When Sissoko and Carrick were attracted to defend, he passed the ball to Ronaldinho. The latter had a passing space in front of him, and he accurately concealed the through ball and sent the ball to the ribs of the penalty area.
, Kaka was outflanking the center of the goal at this time, Henry received the ball and faked a cross pass. At this critical moment, Hyypia lost his center of gravity in order to block the passing line!
After Hyypia shifted his focus, cold sweat broke out on his forehead because he saw Henry kicking the ball back and then taking a sideways step to shake Hyypia away!
Diagonally facing the goal, Henry calmly pushed the ball into the goal!
"Millwall took the lead after the opening! The cooperation between Ronaldinho and Henry, Henry passed Hyypia in the penalty area and then succeeded in pushing the shot. Liverpool was in a bad situation. They fell behind shortly after the opening. This made them
The game will be in trouble.”
Liverpool's generals may have been aware of this conceding goal for a long time, because no team in Europe dared to say they didn't concede a goal against Millwall!
Liverpool's morale has not been greatly affected and they continue to attack resolutely!
The entire Millwall team was hesitant.
In their pre-game preparations, the coaching staff's requirements for the game are to attack fiercely in the first thirty minutes, return to a balanced posture after taking the lead, focus on control, and only attack boldly when there are better offensive opportunities.
Now that the score is ahead, they naturally pull back, but Liverpool is like a wild beast, not caring that they have been injured once, and attacking wildly!
Millwall restrained their scruples, and soon the score was equalized by Liverpool 3 minutes later!
Gerrard, who has played extremely well this season, took a long shot from outside the penalty area. The ball was refracted and bounced into the legs of Schneider, who was defending in the penalty area. He immediately stepped forward to make a clearance, but Kewell poked the ball away first.
In front of the goal, Owen, who was moving like a rabbit, stretched out his foot in front of Butt and poked the ball into the goal!
The Millwall defender immediately raised his hand to indicate that Irving was offside. Judging from the slow-motion replay, Irving was suspected of being offside, but it was only within a hair's breadth. It is difficult to blame the referee.
"Liverpool equalized the score! The scorer was Owen! The score changed twice in 3 minutes, 1:1. Liverpool's goal will boost their morale!"
Yes, 0:0 and 1:1 have completely different effects on Liverpool's morale. An equalizer is very effective in boosting morale, especially when facing an opponent like Millwall. (To be continued, please search Piao.com.) Astronomy and novels are better and updated faster!
