Arsenal equalized the score before the end of the first half, from two goals behind to equalize. This boosted morale. In the boiling Highbury, Wenger rarely showed a passionate celebration, taking off his suit.
He clenched his fists and raised his arms on the sidelines, then applauded the players.
Aldrich stood up from his seat and walked to the sideline with a calm expression.
He can accept the outcome of winning or losing. If he wins, he will advance to the semi-finals of the FA Cup. If he loses, he will not be disappointed. A draw will be even better. There will be another make-up game to give the young players one more opportunity to practice.
This is how I face it mentally, but I can't just give up on the game.
Before the restart, he called Van der Meyde and Grenjaer in front of him and told them to move back to help defend the full-backs. Don't look at the fact that the game had already reached 42 minutes and was less than 5 minutes from the end of the first half. According to Arsenal
With such momentum, maybe he will really go all out to complete the reversal in the first half.
Ferreira and Cole must be relieved of pressure, at least until halftime, so that they have a psychological buffer space.
After the restart, Aldridge stood on the sidelines to supervise the game, and the wide midfielders also shrank back. The backcourt defense consisted of eight people and two lines of defense. It would not be so easy for Arsenal if they wanted to make a fuss on the wing.
"At the end of the first half, Arsenal 2:2 Millwall. Arsenal seemed to be slow to enter the game at their home court. After scoring two goals in a row, they finally woke up. Fortunately, they walked into the dressing room with a draw.
Otherwise it will be really difficult to play in the second half.”
Aldridge carefully arranged the tactics for the second half during the halftime break. Strangely enough, he actually enjoyed the time of leading the substitutes in the game, because the substitutes were young and had the same combat effectiveness as the main lineup, which required him to perform more as a head coach.
His role is to help the team win. If it is the main lineup, Aldrich will basically make a few words in the midfield adjustment. If he is leading in the first half, the midfielder may not need to say a word.
On paper, Millwall's current group of young players will definitely not be able to match last season's Premier League champion Arsenal.
The weak fights against the strong, and the fun is endless.
At the beginning of the second half, Millwall seemed to have retreated across the board. The two full-backs kept a distance from each other. Pires and Overmars would have been trapped in a double-team situation if they fought alone.
Wenger frowned. Is Millwall trying to maintain a draw?
Or lure Arsenal's two 35-year-old full-backs to step forward and assist?
If Winterbourne and Dixon really dare to go deep into the hinterland and come forward to assist, it is almost like seeking death. They can come up, but can they go back immediately?
Overmars dribbled the ball in a different direction and broke through Glenchard's defense. Ashley Cole saw the opportunity and grabbed the ball. Peter Pan was a step faster and spiked the ball in a different direction into the penalty area. Ashley Cole
It was like seeing a ghost. He thought he could cut off the ball 100%.
Fortunately, Neal was well prepared when Ashley Cole was passed, and Overmars was finally intercepted when he almost lost his center of gravity.
Neal intercepted the ball and passed it directly to Grenjaer on the left. The Dane did not hesitate and passed the ball diagonally to Lampard who was advancing forward. The latter then passed diagonally to the right.
The moment Van der Meyde switched from defense to attack, he rushed forward from the right at high speed, leaving Pires behind early. He received the ball at the center line and sprinted along the wing.
Lampard's pressure forced Petit and Vieira to guard the dangerous area in front of the penalty area. Especially when Klose also pulled out to approach the right, Van der Meyde faced Dixon alone and faked a pass.
Then he used a spin similar to that of Marseille to pull the ball past the opponent, which was very entertaining to watch.
"The 19-year-old Van der Meyde defeated the 35-year-old Dixon! Van der Meyde dribbled the ball down and crossed the middle. Klose, who had previously pulled out of the penalty area, came in again. He took the ball in the penalty area and shot. It turned out to be a fake
Action! He cleared the space and passed the ball diagonally to Ruud van Nistelrooy. After the point, Van Nistelrooy, the ball went in! Van Nistelrooy went in!
Nistelrooy scored twice and Millwall once again led Arsenal in the 53rd minute of the second half! This is a victory for young people. Millwall's youthful storm swept the aging Arsenal defense! Van der Meyde, another genius from the Netherlands
A wide player. Will he be the next Overmars? Hahaha."
After scoring the goal, Ruud was so excited that he roared into the stands.
He likes the teammates around him so much, Van der Meyde, Klose, and Grenjaer. Each of them has good individual ability and can always create opportunities in a small area. He only needs to flexibly run out of space.
, the ball will come to his feet, and then he scores, celebrates, and enjoys...
But he also knows that these people are not the protagonists of Millwall now. Although they have played very good games this season, there is still a clear gap between them and the main lineup.
If the strength of Millwall's main lineup is S-level, they can barely be considered A-level.
When Millwall's main attacking group played devastating offensive football, they became the focus of attention in English football. Fleet Street lamented the strength of Millwall, especially this season's substitute lineup after two or three consecutive seasons of running-in.
After growing up, the entire first team became a behemoth.
When hearing the word substitute, almost everyone's first reaction is "weak". The same is true for other teams, even giants.
But no one would think that Millwall's substitute lineup is now synonymous with underdogs. Even professional reporters like David Miller have firmly pointed out: If Millwall does not have 11 main players, then the substitute lineup plus 7
, a team composed of 8 substitutes, without injuries, Hall can lead them to the top three in the Premier League.
It is definitely impossible to win the championship, but there is no problem in reaching the top half of the standings, and there is some hope to compete for third place.
Millwall took the lead again, and the game entered the second half, and Arsenal began to become a little anxious.
Fifteen minutes later, Gattuso had the body to block Vieira's long-range shot, and the ball fell at the feet of Paulo Ferreira. He faced Pires' attack but calmly spiked the ball to avoid the opponent. Then came the following.
The kick made Aldrich stick his head out to applaud his good shot.
This was a long pass, diagonally passed from the right to the left. Glenchard got the ball on the left, and then started an unreasonable long-distance run.
Pettit wanted to help defend the wing, but he took two steps and immediately turned around and ran towards the back line.
Damn it, his speed is completely different!
Grenchar brought the ball to the left side of the penalty area. Facing Winterbourne, he did not have a more skillful pass like Van der Meyde. His choice was very simple and crude. He made an emergency stop in front of Winterbourne.
Change of direction, horizontal dribbling.
Winterbourne changed from frontal defense to moving to the middle, and his eyes could only see Grenchar's side face.
"The 21-year-old Gleneagles made the 35-year-old Winterbourne unable to touch his jersey at all! How will he choose? Continue to pass? Ruud van Nistelrooy leaned on Adams with his back, Klose moved forward, and Pei
Tite was about to press him, and just before Pettit touched the ball, Glenn
Charles poked the ball out from under his feet. In the middle of the penalty area, Lampard reached and took a long shot! The ball went in! Lampard's violent long shot, the ball hit the dead corner of the goal. Seaman looked at the ball and sighed. Millwall
The youth storm swept Highbury. Arsenal fell behind by two goals again!"
After Lampard's shot, he was knocked down from behind by someone, Vieira, and after Gronzal passed the ball, he was also knocked down by someone, it was Petit.
Even though the ball had been scored, the referee still showed Pettit a yellow card, thinking that his action of grabbing the ball just now was a dangerous action.
Lampard got up from the ground, ran over and pulled up Grenciaer. He hugged him and ran towards the sideline, while the Millwall fans in the stands cheered for them.
It seems that these young players are like a group of little lions, full of heroic spirit and high morale!
Aldrich couldn't restrain his surprised smile on the sidelines.
It was really a good idea to send the substitutes out today.
They are full of energy and fighting spirit, and they feel weaker than Arsenal, forcing Arsenal to focus on attacking. Both teams are good at counterattacks, but Millwall has more opportunities.
Wenger kicked away the mineral water bottle on the sidelines.
It's hard to say whether Winterbourne or Dixon were completely outplayed by Gruncharr and Van der Meyde today.
After all, they mainly attack. The forward line and the back line will be disconnected when being hit on counterattack, especially when the opponent's wide players are super fast.
It is understandable that frontal defense is defeated by fast and flexible players. In addition, they are already 35 years old. When defending against counterattacks, they should first stabilize the defense and compress the space to ensure the success rate of defense. They can be counterattacked.
, the opponent's two sharp knives on the wing, how many defensive players in the Premier League can guarantee a 100% defensive success rate in one-on-one defense? And this is when the opponent's speed has completely increased!
Wenger was angry with himself because he did not understand Millwall's counterattack routine when conceding the first goal in the second half.
The two goals conceded in the second half were almost the same. In the first half, Millwall had both sides flying together, but in the second half it changed. They cut off one side and played one side, but they were very particular about which side they hit.
The first time was a successful defense on the left side. During the counterattack, he switched to the right side. Because Glenchard was involved in defense on the left side, it was not so fast to switch from defense to attack and then forward.
The second time, the defense on the right wing was successful, and the counterattack immediately moved to the left wing. This transfer of attack and forward movement not only forced Arsenal's defensive focus to immediately keep up with the rhythm, but also gave the wing players the opportunity to start moving forward.
space and time.
This is also the focus of Aldrich's tactical adjustments in the second half.
2:4, Millwall leads by two goals, with 20 minutes left in the game.
Aldrich stood up and tried to do something shameless.
"Millwall made a substitution. Three people were substituted at once? Grenjaer, Van der Meyde, and Klose were substituted. Pedretti, Duff, and Ronaldinho came on. Uh, Pedr
Reti is known as Marco Lele, he plays defensive midfielder, is it possible to liberate Lampa?
Germany? Let's take a look. Millwall's static formation should become 4321. Gattuso, Lampard and Pedretti form the three defensive midfielders, with Duff and Ronaldinho playing in the two midfielders.
From the wing, Ruud van Nistelrooy's single shot, Aldridge seems to be holding on to the victory."
Aldrich stood on the sidelines with a smile on his face.
Wenger's face was as black as carbon.
The gentle professor almost wanted to curse.
Millwall had a strong team, and when Grenjaer and Van der Meyde got tired, they replaced Duff and Ronaldinho, and even more shamelessly deployed a back three.
This suddenly made Arsenal's tactics even more defensive.
Isn't it nonsense that the central midfielder wants to penetrate the defensive zone of the three defensive midfielders?
Ronaldinho and Duff just came on the field, and they seemed to be assisting the full-backs. But if they are counterattacked again and these two rush into Arsenal's defense, will Arsenal be able to withstand it?
Aldridge is indeed shameless. In fact, he replaced Ronaldinho to scare the opponent. No matter which side they are on, can Winterbourne and Dixon, who ran for 70 minutes, guard against the lively Ronaldinho?
If the double defensive midfielders do not intervene in the attack, will Arsenal be effective if they rely solely on the wing to attack?
