The first round of the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup at the Bran Stadium showed a one-sided situation. Bran was at home and scored three goals in the first half. After fifteen minutes of play in the second half, Aldrich replaced Ballack with Pirlo.
Vanney replaced Trezeguet, and the team began to take firm control of the midfield and played oppressive offensive football.
Bran retreated in the second half after adjusting in the midfield. It was a little late for them to pull back from the brink. At this time, the defense had lost its meaning. However, in order to avoid a big defeat at home, they could only lose one goal and count it as one.
Millwall did not want to rush too hard to avoid injuries, so they slowed down their pace and patiently looked for gaps in the opponent's defense through pass-and-cut coordination.
Until the 86th minute of the game, Larsson made a pass in front of the penalty area. Nedvěd rushed into the penalty area, went all the way to the bottom and then hit the middle. Van Nistelrooy missed the first point in front of the goal and was pushed from behind.
, before he had time to complain to the referee about the opponent's foul, Shevchenko at the far end outflanked the ball and sent the ball into Bran's goal.
In the end, Millwall beat Brann with four goals in an away game and are expected to advance to the semi-finals.
Aldridge left the game directly after the game without intending to shake hands with the opponent's coach. This was not a hard and fast rule anyway, and since the opponent was belittling his own team, there was no need to be polite with the opponent.
At the post-match press conference, reporters from the English media asked him for his evaluation of the game.
Aldrich pondered for a moment and then said: "Unfortunately, we can only take away a draw from Bran."
The reporters in the audience were stunned.
Brother, your team beat the opponent four to zero!
draw?
Have you traveled through time?
Before the reporter could continue to ask questions, Aldridge changed his expression and said with a smile: "The youth team lost 1:5 during the day, and we won 4:0 at night. The total score was 5:5. It was a draw."
The English reporters in the audience burst into laughter, while the local reporters looked embarrassed.
Closer to home, Aldridge answered some questions and finally said that in the second round of the next game in London, Millwall will still pay attention to its opponents and will never give their opponents any chance to make a comeback.
But most reporters have guessed that Aldridge attaches great importance to it, but will let young players train.
Nagy, who was far away in Oslo, the capital of Norway, watched the live broadcast of the game with the coach and players in the hotel.
After the game was over, he said to the youth team players with a serious face: "Did you see? You were embarrassed in Bergen during the day. Fortunately, our first team players saved the team's face. You may think
: They are all stars. They deserve to win. I tell you, this idea is completely wrong. You should tell yourself: They are Millwall's present and we are Millwall's future, no matter how old they are.
As long as you wear a Millwall jersey.
We should shoulder the honor of the team. We are not afraid of losing, but we must not lose the game easily and indifferently. Okay, now go back to the room to sleep and keep your spirits up. Tomorrow we will have a good match with the Varnarunga youth team.
game, and then have one day to rest. Then we can go shopping nearby. The day after tomorrow, we will face the youth team of Rosenborg, the strongest team in Norway. I hope you can go home with your heads held high instead of coming here.
It’s being laughed at here.”
The young players collectively agreed and then returned to their rooms to sleep peacefully.
Aldridge and his team flew back to London the night after the game.
According to Millwall's momentum in the Premier League, Fleet Street was not surprised at all by their four-goal victory over Brann in the European away game. The media only briefly mentioned the match report, but Manchester United's 4-0 victory over Porto in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals was a surprise.
Only one foot has crossed the threshold of the semi-finals. This made the British media sing praises for the Red Devils, because for more than ten years, England has not
The team has been able to enter the semi-finals of the Champions League. It was first banned from European competitions and then lifted. Until this year, Premier League teams could not even hope to qualify from the group. This year, Manchester United not only qualified from the group, but also saw the possibility of reaching the final.
After all, there are only three games left before the finals, one against Porto in the second leg and two in the semifinals. If we can pass, we will have a chance to win the championship.
Since losing to Millwall in the Premier League in the first half of the season, Manchester United had no defeat in the league until March, with more wins and fewer draws. The points gap with Millwall has already narrowed with nine rounds left in the league.
The gap narrowed to 13 points.
Originally, this gap had been reduced to 12 points before the start of the last round of the league, but while Millwall received a draw, Manchester United lost to Sunderland in the away game. They missed the opportunity to reduce the points to 10 points, leaving Ferguson
The momentum of the war of words has weakened a lot.
At the weekend, Millwall faced Sunderland at home, who overturned Manchester United in the last round.
In order to leave more preparation time for the European Cup Winners' Cup in April and May, Aldridge planned to use the main lineup in the league to end the suspense of the Premier League championship. Therefore, in this round of games against newly promoted teams, he insisted on using the main lineup.
, anyway, he plans to send some substitutes to the FA Cup next week.
In the clash at the Lion's Den, Aldridge's opponent was Peter Reed.
The coach is still young, only 40 years old this year, and he has some things to be proud of in his coaching resume. Just a few years ago, the Manchester City he led beat Manchester United in the league. However, his coaching ideas have gradually become more and more similar to those of Manchester City.
If it does not keep up with the times, it is difficult for the British style of play to achieve breakthrough achievements in the league.
Sunderland has to score points to avoid relegation, but Millwall has already tempered its heart for big games and is 13 points ahead of Manchester United. There is no need to put too much pressure on themselves.
When Aldridge saw Sunderland's starting lineup, he was immediately surprised. He turned to ask Jenson: "Am I remembering it wrong? Why do I feel like there are many players in Sunderland that I don't know?"
In the process of studying opponents, even if they were mid-to-lower teams, Aldridge had an impression of the names and characteristics of the players. However, among the 11 players in Sunderland's starting lineup today, he felt that at least four of them had very unfamiliar faces.
Jenson was also puzzled, so he communicated with Benitez, Craig and other coaches, and after checking with various sources, he gave Aldridge a positive answer.
"Half of them are reserve team members and have played no more than 5 times this season."
Aldrich touched his head and wondered: Is this a strange soldier?
If so. Isn’t this a bit too much of a surprise weapon?
He asked Benitez: "What is Reid doing?"
Benitez said with disdain: "There is no trick. I just reserve my strength and wait to score points against Nottingham Forest at home next time."
It has to be said that Aldrich still lacks the consciousness of a strong man.
Sunderland came to the Lion's Den to clash with Millwall, the most powerful team in the Premier League?
What are the chances of getting points?
If Reid thought he could get a point by just holding on, he would be looking down on Millwall too much. Except for Middlesbrough, which won a victory here at the beginning of the season, all the teams that visited here afterwards lost.
!And Millwall averaged 3.6 goals per game.
If he dares to play all the main players, in case of a defeat, he will be completely discouraged from defeating Manchester United at home in the last round!
In the next round, they returned to home to face Nottingham Forest, who were at the bottom of the league and had little hope of relegation. Sunderland certainly wanted to take advantage of their home court to push Nottingham Forest into the abyss and land on their own. Therefore, Reid wisely chose to preserve his strength.
Aldrich's mind is a bit arrogant. He uses himself to judge others, thinking that even if the opponent defends, he should use a sneak attack on the basis of resistance.
I didn't realize that Millwall now has the strength to make other teams timid before they fight.
Facing such a Sunderland team that was almost put together and had no team tacit understanding, Millwall still won the game easily despite going on an expedition to Norway in midweek.
During the game, his teammates tried their best to create scoring opportunities for Larson. There was a one-on-one ball, and Trezeguet also chose to pass it crosswise to Larson who was diagonally crossing the middle, allowing the latter to score.
After scoring the goal, Larsson smiled and shook his head at Trezeguet, but the latter picked him up and laughed indifferently.
When the game ended, there was thunderous applause in the stands. The Roar fans in the South Stand held up Larsson's No. 11 jersey and shouted in unison: "Europe's top scorer!"
The full match result was 6:0, Larsson scored a hat trick, and the number of goals in the league has reached 30.
The Swede looked touched at the end of the game. He frequently applauded the fans in the stands and hugged each of his teammates. He knew that he could score so many goals. In addition to his own ability, he also shared his gratitude with his teammates.
His selflessness and support go hand in hand.
Aldridge seemed much calmer. He took the initiative to walk towards Peter Reid at the end of the game. The two met a year ago. It was at the Coaches Association dinner. Aldridge was elected as the best coach in the Premier League.
Sunderland was promoted to the Premier League and was the best manager in League One last season. The two had in-depth exchanges at that time.
"Aldridge, congratulations, Millwall's first league championship in history, that's amazing."
"I'm just lucky, the rich team is falling behind, and the players under me are performing well."
"Stop being modest, it's so hypocritical. I hope we can see you in the Premier League next season."
"Hey, why are you discouraged? Show the momentum to kill Manchester United. There are still eight rounds of the league, so relegation is not hopeless."
"You're right, then, see you next season."
"Um."
The two chatted for a while and then separated. Aldridge walked into the players' tunnel. In the mixed area, the reporters were less interested. It seemed that Millwall's victory could no longer create any sensational news.
However, some people still found fault and asked Aldridge: "Sunderland sent half of their reserve team players. This is obviously a proactive disarmament. Is Millwall a bit weak in victory?"
Aldridge shook his head and sneered: "I don't think so. I will always send many new players to the game in some games. A team does not only consist of 11 players, or 16 players plus a substitute list.
Can these people last the whole season? Your question is too stupid. If I say yes and the opponent surrenders before the game, then if I send in a few new-faced players in the future, wouldn’t it be the same as saying: Millwall
Did you surrender too?"
The reporter who asked the question was choked. His words sounded harmless and seemed impossible to refute, but in fact there was an essential difference, but the reporter stopped bothering.
Manchester United defeated Sheffield Wednesday with two goals at home. With 8 rounds left in the league, Millwall led by 13 points. After the game, Ferguson feebly rebuked Sunderland for their formation. At the same time, he had to admit: Manchester United failed to defend the title!
Even if Manchester United wins all the last eight games, will Millwall lose five games?
Moreover, in terms of the schedule, Manchester United focuses more on the Champions League, and Millwall also has European competitions, but it is very easy to advance all the way. The only real tough battle may be the semi-finals, and that will not be until April. It is estimated that Millwall will be there by then.
They can be completely freed from the league, but Manchester United still needs to secure the Champions League ticket for second place in the league.
The new week is another double-header. The quarter-finals of the FA Cup begin with Millwall playing at home against Wimbledon, which eliminated Manchester United.
This is a derby in the same city. Wimbledon's strong style of play has regained its strength this season, so Aldrich also formed a muscle formation.
