"The Lions advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League!"
"The defending champion is still as domineering as ever!"
"The mad lion defeats the Catalan giant!"
Millwall announced its ambition to defend the title with a score of 6:3. When other games were still full of suspense with 90 minutes left, Millwall was promoted by the media to have advanced to the semi-finals.
At the same time, commentators who reviewed the game after the game believed that Barcelona's loss was very superficial.
Reporters writing match reports will write that Barcelona was full of courage at the Lion King Stadium and tragically lost the qualification to advance.
But in the eyes of football critics, Barcelona doesn't even understand what level of team Millwall is!
When Bayern Munich lost to Millwall in two meetings, the press conference claimed that Bayern Munich lost the game cowardly.
But when football commentators compare Bayern Munich with Barcelona, they think Bayern Munich's loss is more meaningful.
The reason is, can't Bayern Munich attack as bravely as Barcelona? Yes, absolutely!
But Hitzfield knows that if he lets it go, doesn't think about Millwall's advantages, doesn't impose targeted restrictions, and lets Bayern Munich play in its own style and fight "bravely", then after 90 minutes, Bayern Munich should also be able to achieve something.
Score a goal, but the probability of losing the game may exceed 70%!
It's just that people are used to seeing Millwall suppress their opponents and suddenly find Barcelona fighting Millwall bravely, so they appreciate this spirit.
But if you turn back the time two years, you will find that it is precisely because Millwall's offensive firepower is too strong that it forces the opponent to rack their brains to limit the Mad Lions and have to adopt defensive counterattack routines, thus weakening the self-centered team.
The game attitude, playing against Millwall? Two years ago, many strong teams did this, and then what? The whole army was wiped out, playing against Millwall, the key point is not whether they can break through Millwall.
If you attack your gate like this, the probability of losing the game will be very high!
Precisely because Millwall forced all its opponents to strengthen their defense, people later became accustomed to seeing Millwall suppress their opponents in more than 95% of their games.
Are Barcelona brave?
In the eyes of football critics, it was ridiculous to think that this was brave. Barcelona just experienced the feeling of failure after the attack, and did not create even a little trouble for Millwall.
When Millwall played Bayern Munich, Aldridge continued to make on-the-spot adjustments. When playing Barcelona, except for the final substitution, Millwall almost didn't even have to change the rhythm on the court.
This game was very simple. It was pure offensive football, you come and go, you score one, I score one, and the 90 minutes ended. Millwall took away the victory, it was that simple.
In the FA Cup quarter-finals at the weekend, Aldridge put on the bench to continue training Ronaldo and Kaká, the wild lion twins promoted by the outside world.
At the Lion King Stadium, the Millwall team was full of energy and the substitute lineup was full of energy and started a full-court offensive and defensive battle with Newcastle United. The scene was extremely exciting.
Millwall, who is not the main force, naturally does not have a strong game dominance. Newcastle United coach Robson also knows this very well, so he started to attack Millwall. I cannot say that it is absolutely correct, but at least he can compete with Millwall.
A half a catty.
The Newcastle United team under Robson has been fighting well this season. The two sides struggled offensively and defensively, but not many goals were scored. When the game reached almost 90 minutes, the score was 1:1.
Seeing that the rematch might have to be replayed on another day, Aldrich took a gamble, replaced him with a forward, and used long passes to look for the last chance.
He won the bet. Almost at the last second, Millwall caused a melee in front of Newcastle United's goal. Alonso found a shooting opportunity in the penalty area and sent the ball into the opponent's goal. The entire Lion King Stadium was boiling!
Aldridge jumped up excitedly when he saw the team counting down Newcastle United from the sidelines.
Robson sighed slightly, feeling a little discouraged.
He is probably really old and no longer has the adventurous spirit of young people.
He actually didn't expect that the strength of Millwall's substitute lineup has grown so fast. The team composed of players who are not well-known actually has the strength of a mid-table team in the Premier League. With the home game, Newcastle United and Newcastle United have the strength.
They are on par.
The coach wanted to delay and consume Millwall. The closer the game was to the end, the better time it would be to make a final effort. However, Millwall showed no signs of relaxing and there were no flaws in the overall formation. The coach was hesitant.
, after this hesitation, Millwall took action instead. Aldridge took a risky gamble and removed a defensive midfielder and added a forward, which resulted in a decisive victory over Newcastle United.
After the game, Aldridge and Robson held arms and talked on the sidelines.
"Aldrich, every time I see you, I feel older."
Aldrich was speechless: You are almost 70, how can you not age?
While Robson was full of emotions, Aldridge didn't have much emotion. After all, at Robson's age, it's normal to have more emotions.
After being promoted to the FA Cup, Millwall has won nine out of ten league games and is concentrating on entering the cup competition. The young players on the bench are training more seriously and actively. They have not many games left. There may be two or three league games.
, and then came the FA Cup semi-finals, against the arch-rival Chelsea.
This season is when this group of substitute players begins to gradually get rid of the shadow of training and truly contribute to Millwall and strive for honors. Some players have also been recognized by the outside world, such as Metzelder and Alonso, who have become famous this season.
The improvement is huge. The new aid Kaka himself was famous for his talent clause when he arrived. Now that he is free of doubts from the outside world, his reputation cannot be considered to have improved much.
In early April, Millwall returned to defend against Barcelona. In the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, the entire Millwall team was in high spirits. What the players are pursuing now is not only the results, but also the enjoyment of the game. The last round against Barcelona
They are very excited to play against each other. The opponents are of high level and they will not be strangled wildly during the game, so they can play to their heart's content. Therefore, in this second round, the fighting spirit of Millwall players is absolutely fine.
After Barcelona experienced a disastrous defeat in the last round, Catalonia was shrouded in a haze. Before the game, head coach Rexach made a bold statement about playing Barcelona's offensive football style, which received praise from the Spanish media. By the time the game was over,
Later, the media criticized him for ignoring his opponent's offensive strength, and now he is not having an easy time.
I don’t know if the 6:3 score can wake him up. Aldrich waited for two days and then gave up hope. Because Barcelona had no retreat and had to fight to the death at home. In the 180-minute game, they suffered a disastrous defeat in the first 90 minutes.
The passivity in the last 90 minutes is unimaginable. No matter how much Rexach studies and arranges to restrict Millwall at this time, how much meaning does it have?
Before the game even started, the Catalan media claimed that this was a game for Barcelona to defend its honor and dignity!
Aldrich opened the Spanish newspaper on the morning of the game and was instantly happy.
Whenever the media prints such a headline, it basically means that they have no expectations for the home team.
3 goals to reverse Millwall?
No matter how proud Barcelona is, they probably don’t dare to make bold claims before the game that they will definitely achieve it. Even the strongest dream team in their history may not have such confidence. Moreover, at this time, Barcelona is both at home and in Europe.
, they can only be considered strong teams, but do not possess any dominance.
Coming to Camp Nou again after a few years, Aldridge had a lot of feelings.
The last time I came here, I had a bit of an unpleasant quarrel with Van Gaal. I couldn't help it because he was a bit crazy. I didn't provoke him, but he belittled me. I taught him a lesson on the court, and we never had anything to do with him again.
Looking at the atmosphere of Barcelona's stadium today, it is full of tragic atmosphere.
"Barcelona,Barcelona"
This slogan-like team song echoed in Camp Nou for a long time. The fans stood together with the team, really fighting a desperate counterattack!
Aldridge sat on the coach's bench, thinking that one day when Millwall is in trouble, will there be 100,000 fans at the Lion King Stadium who will unswervingly cheer for the team?
It's undeniable that this represents a club's heritage, but Millwall can't detect it right now.
"In the second leg of the quarter-finals of this season's Champions League, the clash between Barcelona and Millwall started at the Nou Camp. The defending champion Millwall, who is currently visiting as a guest, is temporarily leading with a total score of 6:3. Barcelona wants to advance to the semi-finals. Today, first of all
To beat the opponent by at least 3 goals, if the total score is a draw, it depends on Millwall today
Can they score 3 goals or more in the away game? If Barcelona can return Millwall's score of 6:3, then the total score will be a jaw-dropping 9:9. Then, the two sides will play overtime. I think this situation will happen.
The probability should be extremely slim. There is no difference between the starting lineup of both sides and the game a week ago. Barcelona started."
Aldridge looked serious and focused on the field. Barcelona's starting lineup was exactly the same as in the previous game. Millwall was the same. He wanted to see if Barcelona would have any backup in the game.
A little disappointed, my mood became lighter.
Barcelona's attack was still the same, and it was more intense than the previous game. The backcourt players frequently intervened in the attack.
Millwall's main goal was to attack the away team and press their opponents. As a result, the midfield confrontation between the two sides became the focus.
Millwall's midfield control ability is stronger, and Barcelona relies on pressure from the back to compete. However, as long as Millwall finds space, it becomes easier to penetrate the opponent's defense than in the previous game.
In an away game, Millwall needs a certain amount of time to get into the game. After the start, they should first stabilize the defense and not over-invest in the offense. They will start to exert their strength after the whole team is in a consistent rhythm.
In the 18th minute, Nedvěd sent a diagonal through ball in the frontcourt. Larsson went down from the wing and swept the ball into the middle. Henry got ahead of De Boer and shot the ball into Barcelona's goal.
middle.
Camp Nou fell silent for a moment.
Aldridge smiled and raised his left hand, and Klinsmann and Jansson hit his palm hard one after another.
"Millwall scored first in the away game! Can Barcelona withstand it? Can it? Maybe the prediction of the British newspaper is correct: If Barcelona hopes to reverse Millwall, it must first think about how not to concede the goal. If it only thinks about how to break
Millwall's gate, then the battle at Camp Nou will be completely different than they expected!"
Rexach covered his forehead and was sweating all over his body! (To be continued...)
