Players from Valencia and Millwall entered the stadium with their heads high and their chests high and full of fighting spirit, determined to win this game.
Even though the outside world is not optimistic about Valencia's ability to attack Millwall in the quarterfinals, how can Valencia just surrender?
If the outside world doesn't like it, that's other people's business and has nothing to do with them.
"We saw that the players from both sides have entered the field and stood in a row. Let's introduce the starting lineups of both sides.
It can be seen from the player lineup that Millwall is stronger, but the strength on the football field is only the foundation, and who will win depends on the 90-minute duel between the two sides on the field."
Compared with the configuration of one of the best midfield combinations in Europe last season, after Herrard and Farinos left, Valencia purchased Baraja and formed a double midfielder with Albelda, which can also be called Europe's best midfielder combination.
One of the toughest midfielder combinations.
In the winter transfer window, Valencia bought another talented young man Aimar. Vicente and Joaquin, who were originally loaned to them by Millwall, performed well, but after all, they were not their own people. I guess Valencia Club also has its own people.
Thoughts. Shortage of major generals before the season
Eager to rent. After the first stage of the Champions League group stage is completed and successfully promoted. The income has increased sharply, and the mind is full of excitement. Maybe there is a little pressure on Joaquin and Vicente to facilitate their future acquisitions, in case these two people
It's so popular that they can't afford the transfer fee.
The Mestalla was noisy, and the cheers of fans from both sides did not diminish even after the game started.
After five minutes of testing and adapting to the rhythm, the two teams opened up and accelerated the pace of the game. The battle began with real swords and guns.
Generally speaking, in a round-based 180-minute game, the first round will be a little restrained, but against a top team like Millwall, Valencia really doesn't dare to be too conservative in the rhythm. If they can't beat the opponent at home, they go to the away game.
What a disaster!
And this is also related to their own technical and tactical play.
The ultimate defensive counterattack, Cooper took this set to the extreme in Valencia.
The outside world cannot accuse Cooper of having any problems with his tactics, whether they are anti-football and excessively utilitarian.
The cards in Cooper's hand determine that he can only play defense.
Two full-backs, Angeloma and Carboni. Now 36 years old!
Without anti-counterattack, the full-backs have no ability to go up and down. Even the mid-to-lower teams can wear down their wing defenses back and forth. This alone is not enough. Double midfielders must also protect the back line, especially the full-backs and central midfielders.
The defenders' ribs are open, which increases the fault tolerance rate. In this way, four defenders plus two defensive midfielders, no matter how the front is designed, must be based on this. Therefore, anti-counterattack is the best choice.
Millwall quickly formed a pressure in the frontcourt, and Aldridge was not surprised by this.
The opponent's two full-backs can't go up, because they can't come back, so they hold the back line firmly and turn around. Millwall's two wingers have less defensive tasks and can focus more on offense.
A veteran has the advantage of a veteran. As long as the opponent is not given enough space to be overrun by speedy players, he has rich experience in anticipation, position selection, interception timing, assisting defense, etc. to provide a foundation. Last season's Champions League final against Valencia
After the game, the media unanimously believed that Gerardo replaced Carboni, who was unable to play.
The biggest change in Millwall's offense today came from Ronaldinho. Aldrich specifically gave him a task in the tactical meeting. He should not rush to the side or cut inside, but move closer to the center to strengthen cooperation with Nedvěd.
Even though Albelda and Baraja had good defensive abilities, they still seemed unable to withstand Ronaldinho's initiative to cooperate with Nedvěd in the middle.
After the start, Ronaldinho did a trick on the wing to provoke his opponent. He broke through Angelomar's defense with a cow's tail, but the effect of the pass was average.
His threat is known to the entire European football world, not to mention Valencia.
When Ronaldinho took the initiative to lean towards the center, he gave up the left wing to Gianluca Zambrotta. Angeloma did not dare to press forward and was afraid of losing his position. Ronaldinho alone in the center put Alberda and Baraja under great pressure.
, especially when Ronaldinho is in possession of the ball, they dare not rush forward and always pay attention to the distance between themselves and the back line.
In the 11th minute, Ronaldinho controlled the ball in front of the penalty area and made a fake movement on the spot. Alberda looked like a ghost and took half a step back for fear of being passed. However, Ronaldinho straightened up and stood on the spot. People were everywhere.
There are Valencia players on defense, and the front defense remains immobile, while Mendieta comes back to help defend from behind.
Ronaldinho calmly picked up the ball and passed it over Albelda's head. His heart seemed to be shaken. His eyes widened and he immediately turned around to look back.
Henry jumped up to grab the header and moved sideways consciously.
Before the ball hit the ground, Nedved used his chest to carry the ball in while it was in the air, breaking through Valencia's entire defense.
Since Valencia's defense was relatively deep, although Nedvěd seemed to have scored one goal, he was too close to the goal. Canizares decisively abandoned the goal after Henry's header. When the ball came from
The moment Nedvěd landed on his chest, Canizares had already lowered his center of gravity and came to a meter in front of Nedved.
Nedved forced his foot to kick and volleyed with great force.
Bang!
The stands in the Mestalla erupted in exclamations.
The ball hit Canizares on the shoulder and bounced away.
The fans of the Bat Legion immediately doubled their applause and applauded Canizares for his fearlessness.
"Nedvěd's shot was blocked by Canizares with his body. Millwall's offense was very effective, directly tearing apart Valencia's defense from the center."
Valencia just escaped. Larsson's header from the back point was too high and was confiscated by Canizares.
The 36-year-old Carboni obviously couldn't stop Larsson's explosive power when he suddenly cut inside.
Valencia fans in the stands were already worried.
The scene looks like Valencia, which has a home advantage today, is at a more obvious disadvantage than last year's final!
Two minutes later, Mendieta launched a counterattack from the backcourt and kicked directly into the frontcourt.
This long pass passed Gattuso's defense zone and went directly to Valencia's arrowhead, Norwegian high center Kalu!
Carew faced the Millwall penalty area with his back, and the landing point was two meters in front of him. Materazzi behind him could not get close at the first time, so he patiently and calmly waited for Carew to take the ball and turn around. At that time, it was a break
His best time to score the ball will definitely win him!
But after the ball fell, Materazzi looked at Carew's back, suddenly raised his head and cursed in his heart: I bought a watch last year!
I don’t know whether Carew did it intentionally or not, but he clearly had enough space and time to stop the high-altitude ball, and he also took a step forward and extended his foot to stop the ball.
Unexpectedly, the football bounced on the lawn next to his feet. He seemed to be startled by the rebound of the ball, and then turned around in a panic to chase the ball.
The ball bounced off the ground and just passed Materazzi's head. It flew behind him. Materazzi unexpectedly found the ball flying over his head. He immediately turned around, only to see someone speeding two meters in front of him.
Move forward to chase the second landing point of the ball.
Kiley Gonzalez!
Starting from Mendieta's long pass, Gonzalez ran inside from the wing.
Schneider himself was able to keep up with the opponent, but seeing that Carew could get the ball and Materazzi was guarding the defensive zone, Gonzalez was suspected of being offside before Carew caught the ball, so Schneider and Materazzi
Keeping the ball parallel, if Carew stops the ball and turns around to pass the ball to Gonzalez, Gonzalez will fall into the offside trap.
But by some strange combination of circumstances, Carew did not stop the ball and did not touch it. The ball just flew through the midfield and bounced to the ground before crossing the back line.
If Materazzi steps up, he can interfere with Gonzalez, but he will have to use his hands!
In the blink of an eye, Materazzi gave up the idea. Although Southgate was already running quickly to fill the position on the other side, if he committed a foul, it would be a red card. This is Valencia's home court.
Can't afford to take the risk!
Gonzalez caught the ball at the penalty area line, and Pagliuca had already left the goal. Gonzalez volleyed without hesitation, and Pagliuca made a save but was unable to recover.
The ball flew in from the inside of the far post and hit the side netting, showing how tricky the angle was.
"Valencia opened the scoring! Gonzalez's beautiful long shot penetrated Millwall's goal! In the 16th minute of the game, Valencia scored! Their counterattack was really powerful, even the defending champion couldn't resist it!
"
The commentator is a bit unreasonable.
Valencia made a threatening counterattack in the 16th minute, and it was the one that scored the goal, and it was definitely a miss.
If you want to say that Carew's action of stopping the ball but not touching the ball was a fake move, then he is simply a god. Not only does he have eyes in the back of his head, but he can also accurately predict the trajectory of objects.
It is common for forwards to leak the ball and cover for teammates to change direction, but I have never seen a forward use the high ball to make a second leap to cover for teammates. If Carew really thought that way, he would not turn around in a panic and chase after it.
The Mestalla stands were filled with excitement. The fans cheered and waved their fists, as if a great revenge had been avenged and they vented their bad breath!
Materazzi calmly raised his hand to Pagliuca to indicate that it was his problem, and then spread his hand to Schneider to explain something.
Thanks to the force of Mendieta's long pass, the rebound was quite fast after landing. If the force had been smaller, Materazzi might not have to chase back and could just take two steps back to clear the ball with a header.
Cooper's expression on the sidelines was still very solemn, his face was sullen, but his eyes revealed an unknown flame.
Valencia can only defend against counterattacks, and Millwall's offense is so strong. Although they are leading by goals now, the situation is still not optimistic.
One is not enough!
In addition to avoiding away goals from opponents, going to an away game at 1:0, Valencia's probability of advancement is still below 50%.
Aldrich stood unmoved on the sidelines when his team lost the ball, and his expression didn't change at all.
Judging from the first 15 minutes, Millwall's advantage is obvious. There is no need to panic if we lose the ball now. Today we are here to get away goals.
In fact, if Valencia defends against counter-attacks, if Millwall is also determined to defend against counter-attacks, it will definitely limit the opponent's goals. However, Aldridge feels that he has the ability to press the attack, even in an away game. If Millwall abandons his style, this will
It goes against their football philosophy.
Facing a team of equal strength, it is no problem to defend on the road, but when facing an opponent who can create excellent opportunities, Millwall should play more proactively. (To be continued...)
