Although Millwall is three points behind Newcastle United, it has become the favorite to win the Premier League.
"Daily Mail" spent a large space analyzing Millwall's advantages, focusing on the belief that Millwall already has the potential to be a champion.
In 34 league rounds, Millwall only lost to Nottingham Forest away from home, which represents their stability.
The number of goals conceded in 26 league games is the fewest in the Premier League. Although the number of goals scored 64 is not the most in the league, the goal difference shows that Millwall can attack well and defend well.
After winning the League Cup, Millwall became more dominant on the field and gained momentum so quickly that most opponents could only passively defend against them.
Since April, Millwall has played double games every week, with a game every three days. The density is really amazing. They have played one more league make-up game and FA Cup than Newcastle United, and one more game than Manchester United.
A league game, and almost no rotation.
Aldridge complained a little. If it weren't for the European Cup 1996 being held in England, the Premier League schedule would not have been so compressed in the final stage.
When Millwall arrived at Stamford Bridge, they were greeted with boos and shouts from the crowd.
Chelsea is still a tepid Chelsea. It is impossible to compete for the championship, and it has no way to get tickets to European competitions. After getting enough relegation points in four rounds in advance, it becomes easy to sit back and wait for the holidays.
However, today's game is a London derby. In view of the endless hatred between the two teams, Chelsea boss Bates gave the team a death order: Knock down the mad lion!
It's not that the team must win. Bates himself thinks this is unrealistic. Millwall's strength is obvious to all, but he hopes Chelsea can snipe Millwall to compete for the championship.
As long as Millwall can lose points in this round, then Millwall will basically say goodbye to the league championship.
Chelsea can only pursue this aspect now.
Lovers hate enemies, so Chelsea will naturally be happy to hear that their mortal enemy cannot win the championship.
Bates did not invite Arthur to watch the game at Stamford Bridge, but Arthur was very enthusiastic and came uninvited. He even sat next to Bates in the stands, and the two of them could not help but have a grand exchange of pleasantries.
What came out of the two people's mouths had nothing to do with a verbal spat. They were basically old gangsters swearing without a bottom line.
"Bates, give the championship chairman a laugh?"
"Go and ask your three sons to pretend to be idiots for your enjoyment!"
"What would you think if I beat you up here?"
"Then can you still walk out of Stamford Bridge?"
"Try?"
"Try your whole family. If you dare to do whatever you want, I'll call someone!"
"Smile. Don't act like I'm going to rape you."
...
Even though there was a huge gap between the two teams in terms of strength, there were too many factors mixed in to make the game extremely exciting.
Martin Taylor and Andy Gray have been focusing on the scores of other games during the commentary, of course the game between Manchester United and Newcastle United.
Chelsea put on a defensive posture from the very beginning. They couldn't steal three points, but holding on to one point was enough to send Millwall home crying.
Aldridge ignored the shouts and curses from the stands behind him, he couldn't be happier.
After playing the game today, the players still showed the momentum of the Tigers going down the mountain. They are extremely brave!
It's almost like eating the opponent in one go.
In the preparation meeting before the game, everything Aldrich said to them fell on deaf ears.
It's not that the players openly defied the will of the head coach, it's just that as soon as they take the field, the Premier League championship trophy naturally appears in the players' minds. In order to win the championship, they will naturally fight for it!
There was always a strong smell of gunpowder on the court. Millwall's players played quick and smooth passes and cuts. Chelsea blocked the ball if they could, and started fouling if they couldn't.
Ruud Gullit, the footballer, did not even enter the starting lineup today. His physical fitness and fighting enthusiasm are no longer enough to cope with such a fierce game.
In fact, even if Gullit arrives, the spiritual leader and core player of the Chelsea team will not become him, but another local player, Dennis Wise.
This bad boy became today’s protagonist!
He is an atypical villain in the Premier League.
Why is he said to be an atypical villain?
Look what he did. Three minutes after the game started, he kicked down Nedvěd. The referee called him a foul. It seemed that he was going to take out the card when he walked over, but Wise took the initiative with a smile.
He reached out to help Nedved up, and then patted Nedved's jersey with an apologetic gesture. Seeing that Nedved didn't seem to be substantially harmed, the referee gave Wise a few words of warning to stop.
Seeing this scene, Aldrich lowered his head and felt helpless.
Nedved is such a real role model.
People kicked him. As long as he could get up, he wouldn't stay on the ground for a second.
It's not that Aldrich expected him to perform an impromptu performance, but referees often don't take the initiative to protect such players.
This plays right into Dennis Wise's hands. He is such an atypical villain. If it were anyone else, like Keane or Jones, then I would tackle you and I would tackle you. After the tackle, the referee would give me cards if he wanted to.
If you make me angry, I will break your leg without blinking an eye.
But Wise, this kid, pretends to take the initiative to admit his mistakes after doing something bad. One second he will deal with you harshly, and the next second he will extend his friendly hand to you with an apology on his face.
However, he is a small player and does not look particularly strong, so if he fouls fiercely, it feels like he cannot cause much damage.
If you understand his professional background, you will understand where he developed his skills.
Produced by Crazy Gang - "Full of Evil".
When Dennis Wise kicked down Nedvěd for the third time, Aldridge kicked over the mineral water bottle on the sidelines and roared to the fourth official: "Are you going to wait until my player breaks his leg?"
Will it make a difference?"
The referee couldn't stand it anymore and gave Dennis Wise a yellow card. Wise waved his hands dejectedly to express his innocence, thinking that the referee's penalty was unfair.
He even signaled to the referee: Look, that Czech guy, he can run and jump, and his speed is not slow at all. My foul only looked big, but it actually didn't hurt him at all!
The referee ignored Wise's excuse and the game continued.
Chelsea paid five yellow cards in the first half to bring the tie into the dressing room.
Aldrich found the atmosphere in the team becoming very depressing at halftime.
Everyone wants the championship and knows that they must win every game. Therefore, everyone becomes nervous.
Aldridge did not talk about tactics, but asked the physical therapists to relax the players' muscles. Now he really wants to shout to the players: Be normal!
However, he knew that nothing he said would be of any use.
The day before the game, he talked for more than an hour in the preparation meeting.
Now the players have a feeling of being obsessed, and there is nothing else in their eyes except the championship.
This caused them to fall into an imbalanced formation when playing on the field. If Chelsea were not strong enough, I am afraid Millwall would have been destroyed by the counterattack.
The masseur took off the socks and shin guards from Nedved's legs and found that his right leg had become swollen and the bruises were very obvious.
Aldrich came to Nedved and frowned worriedly.
Nedved took a sip of water, raised his head and said firmly: "Boss, I'm fine."
Aldrich looked around at the other players and asked in a deep voice: "How are you feeling physically?"
The faces that were obviously tired and covered with sweat all showed determination, and the players said in unison: "No problem."
Aldrich knew they were lying, but there was nothing he could do about it. Being tough on who to replace at this time would only cause conflicts.
After the players came out in the second half, Aldrich sat down. Next to him, Jenson said worriedly: "I feel that the team is almost out of control! You see, Claude rushed directly through the center circle as soon as he came on the court. They were too
If we want to score goals, we have simply used numbers to gain offensive advantage."
Aldrich shook his head and said nothing.
Now this team is no longer the team that played in League One last year and needed Aldridge to talk about tactics all day long.
The tactics are becoming more and more mature, and the confidence accumulated by the players has given them strong autonomy.
To put it bluntly, it's a bit like an unknown little character in a martial arts novel who suddenly mastered a unique skill in one day and thought he could create his own invincible world.
This is a necessary stage. They think that the sky is high and the birds can fly, but they don't realize that a mature team not only relies on outstanding players, but also relies on an excellent leader.
At this special stage, Aldridge was afraid of causing conflicts with the players, so he could only remain silent and let these players who thought they could win the championship by working hard to do what they wanted to do. Just trying to reason with them was useless.
of.
In the second half, Dennis Wise committed another foul in the 53rd minute, which earned him a second yellow card and was sent off. Hoddle protested to the fourth official on the sidelines, while Aldridge watched indifferently.
Millwall, who had one extra player, only scored in the 80th minute of the second half.
The scene at that time made Aldrich feel a little sad.
What a mess!
Yes. The players on the field have lost their minds in order to win. They are kicking the ball crazily from the wing. Are they looking for opportunities to pass or shoot at threatening points? Stam, Thuram, and Zambrotta all rushed there.
In front of the opponent's penalty area, only Helguera was guarding the backcourt.
The goal was a deflected shot during a melee.
Thuram's shot from outside the penalty area hit someone or whose leg in the dense penalty area, and then rolled to the goal. Trezeguet cleverly tipped the ball into Chelsea's goal with his toes in the crowd.
With this unconvincing goal, Millwall won a victory in a chaotic battle.
Manchester United and Newcastle United won at the same time, and the championship situation remained unchanged.
Aldridge duplicitously praised the team's performance, claiming that this victory was won by the hard work of the Millwall team and that every young man's performance was top-notch.
In fact, he wanted to scold the team, but he couldn't.
Except for the field goal in a chaotic battle throughout the game, Millwall's performance was simply a disaster. The offense and defense were unbalanced. The offense indeed seemed to have strong momentum, but it never scored.
If these players can't face the game calmly in big situations, Aldridge really can't place high hopes on them.
If Chelsea could score them a goal first, maybe they would have a mental breakdown.
But no matter what, luck was on Millwall's side, leaving the exhausted players jubilant on the bus back.
As the parties involved, they did not realize that their performance today had lost their dominance over the game.
After two days of rest, the Millwall team trained for one day, and then they had to face another tough match against Leeds United at home.
Because of the loss in the last round, with the last three rounds of the league remaining, Leeds United is still in danger of being relegated. For them, every point must be fought for.
