Thanks to "Thieves" and "Qingqing Little Wolf" for the reward!
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This year’s Christmas war is another top battle!
Millwall's role as second in the Premier League table has received the greatest attention, not only for their dynamic side this season, but also for their accumulation of influence in the past.
Fleet Street does its best to build momentum for the team at the top of the table.
No one wants to see a dominant league competition. Compared with the two seasons where Millwall almost secured the championship at half-time, this season Fleet Street boasted: Arsenal secured the league title at half-time!
There is a premise.
Beat Millwall at the Lion King Stadium!
Arsenal have been fantastic this season.
In the first 18 games, 13 wins and 5 draws.
It's just slightly inferior to Millwall, who had two undefeated seasons and won the championship.
Fleet Street believes that as long as Arsenal step on the corpse of the mad lion, they can also copy the unbeaten championship!
Millwall's performance cannot be said to be bad.
In 18 rounds, they recorded 11 wins, 6 draws and 1 loss.
Arsenal, 44 points, Millwall, 39 points.
There is only a 5-point gap, but if Arsenal defeat Millwall in an away game, the gap will expand to 8 points, which will invisibly stimulate Arsenal's spirit and morale, which will make them more courageous in the second half of the league!
The Premier League has begun to officially compete for the top spot in the world. In the past, they did not have many outstanding teams, but now the fierceness of the championship group has become the biggest selling point. In addition to the contribution of Millwall, there are also traditional giants Manchester United and Arsenal.
The attention brought by upstart Chelsea.
As for Arsenal, despite their stunning start to the season, they still cannot shake Millwall's market position. The reason is very simple.
They look gorgeous, but they still focus on counterattack.
Millwall has counterattacked before, but it did not last long. In other words, although both are delicate footballs. Representative teams of gorgeous football, Millwall is more grand. At least, Millwall still plays offensive football.
The representative of the team, Arsenal, cannot be called that. Their creativity in positional warfare is still limited. Without space, Arsenal's power is reduced by at least half.
Wenger can't help it. In the past few years, Arsenal has been focusing on counterattacks. However, the defense is not about setting up a bus, and the offense is not about attacking and hanging. Especially when it comes to counterattacking from the side, teamwork is very fast and sharp.
, which is particularly pleasing to the eye during counterattacks. At first, it was due to the age limit of the five veterans in the defense. It was forced to play like this. Later, it was due to the legacy of the previous style. If major surgery was required, Arsenal had no money.
At the pre-game press conference before the Christmas Day game, Aldridge had a headache.
The press conference was chaotic. The reporters in the audience were excited and rushed to ask questions. The focus of the topic was not the first place battle. It was not the Premier League. The target of their questions was Aldridge, the "national team coach".
Snap!
Aldridge will enjoy the noisy environment in the stadium, but cannot tolerate the noisy scene like a conference room.
He knitted his brows with a sullen face, slapped the case, and the scene fell silent.
"That's enough! I will make an exception today to answer your inappropriate questions! As the coach of the England national team, I support the FA's decision! Discipline is discipline, rules are rules, if you violate discipline, break the rules, you will be punished, this is
Very normal procedure! No matter who he is, if he is a Millwall player, I will not plead for him! Rio Ferdinand was suspended for eight months. This is the penalty imposed by the Football Association on Manchester United players because he missed
Urine test, you
Do you think it’s too serious? If you look at other cases, you will find that it is not serious! Why ask for mercy? Because he helped the England national team win the World Cup? That is not the reason for us to condone our players! As the coach of the national team, against Leo
-In the case of Ferdinand being suspended, I can only react in one way: Ferdinand will miss the European Cup. We will solve this problem internally. How to solve it? Our central defender is not just Ferdinand!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Aldrich walked away.
Aldridge is very aware of being a famous coach.
Too troublesome!
He is not a nanny, and he doesn't want to wipe someone's butt. Protecting the players and helping them clean up their messes are two different things.
Ferdinand missed a urine test after a Premier League match this month and was summoned by the Football Association. Immediately afterwards, his mobile phone call records that day were exposed by Fleet Street, which proved that the Manchester United team doctor repeatedly urged him to take a urine test, but he failed to do so.
He was probably as "absent-minded" as described by the outside world, or simply "arrogant and arrogant". He continued to go shopping, continued to be busy with the life affairs of moving into a new mansion, and then, hum hum.
The Football Association struck a blow and made the eight-month ban public, causing an uproar.
Manchester United was in a state of disarray and Ferguson was about to collapse.
The defending champion Manchester United has started well this season. Considering that Beckham has left, Joaquin needs an adaptation period, and there is no one available on the front line except Ruud van Nistelrooy. Solskjaer, who is over 30 years old, is still a magical substitute.
, Scholes still has to guest star from time to time, and later
On the waistline, Keane is about to reach 33. Manchester United is ranked third in the league, just behind Millwall. The hope of defending the title still exists, but the mainstay of the defense is suddenly suspended for eight months. The defense in the second half of the league is no longer the same.
It’s a hidden worry, it’s obviously a big loophole!
Manchester United's tone is very firm. If the FA does not reduce the sentence, they will appeal to the Swiss Court of Arbitration for Sport!
The FA is even tougher: Manchester United, you can sue as you please! After three failed appeals, Ferdinand will be suspended for two years!
Well, yes, the appeal mechanism in European football sports circles is somewhat similar to the social legal system. If you want to appeal to reverse the case, if you lose, there will be additional penalties!
For example, the same goes for a red card suspension. If you appeal, you may be fined and suspended. However, this can also be used because there is no penalty during the appeal period and the player can play. If the suspended game is a key battle. Many clubs
Appeals will be used to exchange players for the opportunity to play first and then be suspended.
Aldrich had no sympathy for Ferdinand.
Not at all.
Even feel angry.
Ferdinand has no reason to complain.
Everyone abides by the rules, and everyone is familiar with the rules. Why are you special?
If you do something wrong, you will be punished.
It’s only natural!
What's annoying is that this makes him have to worry more about the national team.
It is estimated that only Terry and Campbell were happy to hear about this mess and secretly rejoiced.
The next night, Millwall and Arsenal made their final appearance at the Lion King Stadium in the final game of the first half.
Wenger was not proud of Arsenal's 5-point lead. On the contrary, his face was solemn from the moment he stepped into the stadium.
Although Millwall's lineup is not neat today, Wenger does not dare to take it lightly.
Arsenal is a team with very mature technical and tactical play and team player integration. It has persisted for many years and has an unparalleled tacit understanding. It is precisely because the overall framework of the team's lineup has been stable over the years and the core tactical concepts have not changed much. That's why they come
When it reaches its peak, the energy burst out is astonishing.
However, Wenger still felt uncertain, even though he had a tough tone in front of the media, believing that Arsenal would lead the standings until the last minute!
Since the second round of the league, Arsenal has been at the top of the list. They started with a winning streak, then won only mediocre games, and have always been in the leading position.
Millwall is constantly swinging between second and fourth place. The distance between them and Manchester United and Chelsea behind them is not too big, but it is still relatively stable.
To say that other teams have been kicked out of the championship is very reluctant, and Millwall is even less likely to watch Arsenal reach the top.
Henry has a minor injury and Villa takes over in the starting lineup.
De Rossi accumulated yellow cards and was suspended, so he went directly to Rome for a holiday and went back to Rome for the New Year. Pedretti will be the one to replace him in the starting lineup.
Southgate is also on the disabled list. In the last game, Silva was sent out to practice. Today, the more experienced Neil was sent.
In London, where there is a New Year atmosphere, the Millwall team is relatively deserted.
Aldridge gave some young players a holiday. This is his tradition of training players. Young players who do not take the lead can get a reasonable rest. Even Ronaldinho, who was 20 years old, still got a Christmas holiday, even if it was sacrificed.
Aldridge doesn't care about the game record. It's better to let the players have a good year than to face the second half of the league in a depressed and bad mood.
With the honor of the European Golden Boy Award, Cristiano Ronaldo returned to his hometown, and Kaká also returned to Brazil to reunite with his family. Even Lahm, a German player, was given a special leave by Aldrich. After all, new German players are not used to it.
During the winter break.
As for Alonso in the team, the holiday was postponed and he was allowed to return to Spain after the Christmas game. Alonso had no complaints about this. Compared with other Premier League teams, Millwall took into account the players' emotions.
In terms of living conditions, we have been extremely considerate.
Millwall fans are not worried at all about falling behind Arsenal in the team standings. Everyone can see that Millwall still has potential to be tapped, and it is very big!
And what about Arsenal?
Is there room for improvement?
Almost gone.
The strength of their players is basically at the current level. From now on, it will either remain the same or steadily decline. That is, Ibrahimovic should still have room for improvement.
It was the first time in so many years that I played against Wenger at the Lion King Stadium!
For the first time, Aldridge was stunned by Wenger!
"Wow! Arsenal led Millwall at home 2:0 in the first half! Their counterattack was very effective. There was no opponent they couldn't destroy. Millwall's offense was too aggressive, which gave Arsenal a huge advantage.
Counter space!”
Ibrahimovic is celebrating proudly, Wenger is raising his arms and smiling, and the Gunners fans are cheering loudly, as if they are about to capture the Lion King Stadium!
Aldrich stood on the sidelines with a grim expression.
Arsenal's core routine today is counterattack, counterattack, damn counterattack!
However, Arsenal's world-famous side counterattack stopped and switched to strong pressure from the center!
Pires himself is not a pure winger, he plays inside without any sense of violation.
Ljungberg quickly put it on the other side, and the flying wing brought tearing and pressure to the back line.
Center forward Ibrahimovic also obeyed the tactical arrangements under Wenger and dropped back to provide support.
Ibrahimovic, Bergkamp, Pires, plus Vieira and Silva were on top when attacking. Arsenal did not pull wide when counterattacking, but directly rushed into the middle, and cooperated with passing and cutting in a small area.
Smooth and easy!
Alonso and De Rossi developed a good understanding in the first half. Today, when he and Pedretti combined, the defensive midfielder was easily caught in the gap. This is because the opponent is stronger and has targeted offensive deployment.
The threat of coming attacks increases.
It is difficult for Nesta to have a sense of sadness in the defense line that he is unable to defeat four hands with two fists. No one dares to go one-on-one with him, not even Ibrahimovic. Bergkamp is old and his confrontation ability has declined very obviously.
, is an artist himself, but now he is maximizing his residual energy and taking on the task of organizing the series. It is the sharp knife threat of the flying winger Ljungberg, as well as the frontline cooperation of Pires and Ibrahimovic, as well as Vieira and
The layers of pressure that Silva provides when attacking from behind are very lethal.
Since the beginning of the new season, Aldridge, who has been unswervingly implementing a new technical and tactical system, has made obvious on-the-spot adjustments for the first time, changing the formation and player roles.
The serious-looking Aldridge was not thankful that yesterday's press conference was disrupted by Fleet Street, because without Ferdinand's trouble, he would have made some heroic remarks at the press conference: After defeating Arsenal, Millwall is only 2 points away from the top spot.
.
Now, in the eyes of most people, Millwall is 8 points away from the top spot after this game. (To be continued)
