After Millwall equalized the score, Aldridge glanced at Ferguson, who was still expressionless and chewing gum, probably as a way to relieve stress.
Manchester United will score more goals than Millwall today?
Aldridge waved his hand and gave the team tactical instructions.
Want to fight? Then fight vigorously!
Stay with me until the end!
Although Millwall has entered a state of super-class strength, that is to say, this team, even without a head coach to direct on the spot, arranges before the game, uses the usual style of play to face all opponents, excluding external factors, 70%
The game should be winnable.
But to say that the most powerful team can sweep all opponents and win all trophies without a head coach is only a layman's view.
Because no matter how strong a team is, it is impossible to win all the time. It needs someone who can unify the thinking of more than 20 main players and substitutes, stabilize the team's state, and make correct and appropriate adjustments. The team's own on-field adjustment ability,
It is also possible to encounter targeted sniping from opponents. Don’t rely on the head coach? Just rely on the players.
Solve all the difficulties by yourself? This is impossible. In particular, the roles of the players on the field are different. The forwards focus on offense and the defenders focus on defense. When they are in a difficult situation, the ideological conflicts or differences between the two will affect the integrity of the team.
Falling apart, no matter how strong a team is, it may fall apart in an instant.
Facing today's game, Aldridge has many options: defensive counterattack, active attack, or slowing down the rhythm to consume the opponent. No matter which one, the chance of winning is very high. This is guaranteed by Millwall's hard power, but
A major premise is that the whole team has a unified mind and resolutely implements the same tactics.
Now, Aldrich chose to attack.
It’s not the conventional kind of balance of offense and defense, with an occasional change of rhythm. It’s a crazy attack! A risk-taking attack!
Corresponding to the change in the situation on the field, Millwall launched a high-pressure press. After the two full-backs assisted, they directly became traditional wingers!
Manchester United suddenly failed to adapt to Millwall's crazy momentum and was caught off guard.
No matter how Millwall plays, one of their characteristics is that the three lines are closely connected. Although it is not foolproof, there is no watertight and guaranteed victory strategy in football.
In the 10th minute, Beckham dribbled the ball from the wing and was entangled by Gianluca Zambrotta. As a last resort, Beckham passed the ball to Veron. As soon as the latter turned around, he saw Pirlo, who was standing in front of him and to the left.
At the same time, he actively stepped up to steal the ball. Veron deftly dribbled the ball away and took a step forward from the right front. After one step, Gattuso successfully intercepted the ball!
This is Pirlo's role in defense. It does not necessarily have to be a successful steal, but it must force the opponent to change the rhythm of dribbling. If the opponent is passing the ball, Pirlo will move back and continue to find the most suitable position.
"Move the stakes" position, and when the opponent's dribbling rhythm changes, like Veron's ball, Gattuso has already been waiting behind Pirlo.
Gattuso stole the ball and passed it to Schneider.
Giggs was running forward just now, but Veron failed to pass the ball. When Giggs turned back, Schneider started earlier than him. He dribbled the ball forward without any hindrance.
It was still moving forward after halftime, and Schneider seemed to be going all the way to darkness.
Sylvester has played against Millwall many times on behalf of Manchester United. He has gained experience. When Schneider assists and Giggs is chasing back, he must not block the bottom line. He must follow.
Larson!
Schneider dribbled the ball all the way to the wing in front of the penalty area, Giggs also chased him, Larsson cut inside, and there were already a lot of people in the penalty area.
Schneider kicked the ball back and passed it back to the center. Pirlo followed up. Although he was further away from the penalty area, there was no one marking Pirlo.
Pirlo continued to dribble forward. He also felt that it was strange to play against Manchester United today. He was 40 yards away from the goal, but there were no Manchester United players around to mark him!
After all, it is Veron's change. Solskjaer is more aware of returning to defense, but he runs back from the end of the forward line and is still 5 meters away from Pirlo at this time.
Manchester United's four defenders, including Gaikian, were all stuck in the penalty area, compressing the space in the dangerous zone and never giving Pirlo a chance to use a scalpel-like through ball.
Pirlo brought the ball to the penalty area and made a gesture to take a long shot. Only then did Manchester United's defense loosen. Keane came over to block his shot with his body, but Pirlo faked a shot and passed the ball horizontally.
Hit the left side.
Gianluca Zambrotta switched routes next to Beckham and started to explode. Beckham found out that he could no longer keep up.
Pirlo's pass was very comfortable, the ball was not fast, and there was plenty of lead. Zambrotta rushed to the penalty area from the left wing. No one could interfere with him, and he did not need to stop the ball. He met the ball with a heavy kick.
Door!
The ball flew straight to the center of Manchester United's goal like a cannonball. The ball was a little floaty, but the angle was not too good and it was obviously very straight.
But Barthez didn't dare to be careless. He couldn't catch the ball. He hit the ball with both fists. The ball seemed to have been kicked by the goalkeeper and flew into the sky and left Manchester United's penalty area.
Veron looked at the ball flying back, and it was right in front of him. He was about to stop the ball, but unexpectedly there was huge pressure from behind. Gattuso squeezed Veron away from behind!
After squeezing the opponent away, Gattuso got stuck and headed the ball forward. Pirlo, who was running back, stopped the ball on his chest, pulled the ball and turned around. In the blink of an eye, he had Manchester United's defense in sight, and then he shot an overhead kick.
The direct pass is amazing!
Manchester United had just been attacked. The ball was blocked by the goalkeeper. It was like a big-footed clearance. The danger was relieved. The defensive players relaxed a little and pressed the formation outward. Unexpectedly, Gattuso headed the ball. Pirlo stopped the ball and turned around.
In less than 3 seconds, Millwall's second attack swept through!
The defense line was in chaos at this time, and the marking task was in chaos. It was not Manchester United itself that was in chaos. Their formation was very formal, with four backs lined up in a row, a midfielder in front, and both midfielders moving forward.
It's that Millwall's attack points are unevenly distributed.
When Gattuso headed the ball to Pirlo, Nedved, Henry, and Larsson all observed that no one was harassing Pirlo, so they immediately prepared for a second attack.
Larsson went to press the center, Henry and Nedvěd both ran to the left rib, and Millwall had the upper hand in attacking numbers locally!
Pirlo's overhead pass is aimed at the area of Henry and Nedvěd.
Henry and Nedved successfully countered offside at the same time!
It seems that the two grabbed the same point. In many games, such behavior will be considered by football critics as a lack of tacit cooperation, but in Millwall's tactical arrangement, this is what Aldridge requires.
Because two people press one point at the same time, it will also cause interference to the defensive players. Which one should be defended?
Obviously, Henry is in a better position as a forward, so Nedvěd consciously moves to the center of the goal. Whether it is a supplementary shot or a connecting point, this choice has once again improved the success rate of the attack!
Henry, who was unmarked, was very sure of the ball. He chose to do it himself, facing the goal and facing the falling ball. He used the arch of his foot to volley the ball safely. The distance from the goal was not far or close, and Barthez came out.
He opened his arms to expand the defensive area, but the ball flew under his open arms and went straight into the goal behind him.
"Millwall reversed the score in the 12th minute! Pirlo's pass was so imaginative. When the Manchester United defense was just pressing outwards, Pirlo's pass passed the Manchester United defense zone from the air. Henry and Nedvěd simultaneously
The offside counterattack was successful. But Nedvěd clearly gave way and ran to the other side of the goal. The moment Henry shot, we see
Look, except for Barthez, the three players closest to the Manchester United goal are all Millwall's offensive players, Larsson, Nedved, and Henry. Even if Henry doesn't shoot, he can easily provide an assist.
But he was very confident in himself. This is the instinct of a shooter. He deftly shot through Bathezi's fingers!"
After Henry scored, he ran to the sidelines and prepared to slide on his knees to celebrate, waving to Pirlo on the way.
Aldridge turned around, took a sip of mineral water, and looked around the stadium. Old Trafford seemed very quiet.
Manchester United was reversed and Ferguson walked to the sidelines. Fans could be heard sporadically booing him in the stands.
The game restarted and another 7 minutes passed. Zambrotta, the Italian who is now ranked among the top five full-backs in the world, drove forward as fast as lightning. After Ronaldinho restrained the Neville brothers, he made a bottom move.
He received a clever pass from Ronaldinho and then kicked the ball towards the goal with a powerful cross.
After all, Blanc is getting old and can't keep up with his speed. Nedvěd attracts Keane, Gary Neville can't block the front point at the first time, and the duel between Henry and Blanc seems to be completely different.
When Henry kicked the ball into the goal before Barthez fell to the ground and came out to hold it, Blanc was two meters away from Henry, as if Henry had scored and he had just started.
"20 minutes! 20 minutes! Millwall not only reversed Manchester United, but also extended the score to 3:1. Henry scored twice. Looking at his hot state, he may very well be able to score a hat trick!"
Aldrich looked arrogant.
After fighting with Manchester United for six years, this is the seventh year. Millwall has gone from being proud to compete with Manchester United to today, Millwall has trampled the former king under its feet. Maybe not many people understand the significance of this, especially for
For Aldrich.
He still can't forget Stam's expression when he was determined to go to Manchester United, every word he said, his tone and his attitude.
It wasn't just Stam, but it was the epitome of Millwall's position in football in an era.
Does Stam just want to go to Manchester United?
No, Larsson, Trezeguet, Thuram and many other outstanding players at the time wanted to join bigger clubs.
They did not have inherent loyalty to Millwall, and Aldridge did not require them to have it. That was forced on others, and he never resented Stam, even if it caused a rift between master and apprentice when he left.
Some have left and some have stayed, and those who remain in the team and become the flag of Millwall are the ones he should cherish.
During this time of fighting side by side, players such as Nedved, Larsson, Schneider, Southgate and others have become benchmarks of loyalty. In the future, some people will still leave, but there will definitely be loyalists.
The most important thing is that there are no Millwall players who are pursuing honors and keep talking about joining Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan and other teams.
It's not that these giant clubs have become worthless, but that Millwall is already a giant, and it is the most successful and most watched giant in the contemporary era!
