The Young Lion

Millwall's third meeting with Manchester United this season kicks off at the Lions Den.レ♠レ

Having reached the semi-final stage, neither side has any reason to give up strategically.

Aldridge chose to play with all the main players, and so did Manchester United.

But because the two teams are behind Newcastle United in the league, there will be some changes in the strategy for the game.

Ferguson obviously didn't want to consume too much in the FA Cup, and Manchester United was playing away again. Manchester United played a little conservatively after the start, trying to control the rhythm of the game and find space for counterattacks to take away the victory.

Aldridge's team now has hopes of winning the FA Cup and the league. The players' continuous battles rely on their willpower, and they rush forward with one breath.

Therefore, Millwall played extremely fiercely from the beginning.

Aldridge was pacing back and forth on the sidelines. At this point in the game this season, he could only rush forward, with no way out, and no rest.

He realized that he was a little naive before. Those teams that could win the championship in multi-line battles, whether they are the head coach or the players, are actually very helpless. Every game ends up being nothing, and it's hard to have a rational reason to explain it.

At this time, I can only cheer up.

Manchester United is still a kingly Manchester United. From the expressions of their players, Aldridge can't see signs of anxiety. He really wants to go to Ferguson and ask: How do you keep the players calm at this time? ?

Yes, the Millwall players have lost their composure on the court, and they are approaching madness.

They are not like wild lions now, but crazy wolves.

He spared no effort to run, attacking and passing with one kick. While the ng was colorful, he also increased the rhythm of the game to an unimaginable speed.

Bruce is still on the field today, and Millwall's offense is still focusing on his side.

Studying the opponent is naturally to attack and attack the weak point. Manchester United's two central defenders are Pallister and Bruce. It is obvious which side should be the main attack.

United tried to control the tempo of the game but they were swayed by Millwall's crazy pressing and now they're exhausted in the defensive line, Cantona couldn't get the ball today,

Makelele's marking of him is very good, and the confrontation between the two Frenchmen is one of the focuses of this game.

Millwall once again successfully resolved Manchester United's offense. Cole and Cantona on the front line today have no room to play. The biggest reason is that Manchester United's midfield configuration is more defensive, and the creativity of the offensive end is obviously insufficient.

Even though Keane is a strong man with both offense and defense, his main force is on defense. When he switches from defense to offense, Nedved will immediately entangle him, limiting his performance on the offensive end.

Pires took the ball and passed it to the center, Larsson who retreated received the ball and left it on the spot, and then he ran into the center, which made Pallister instinctively keep up with Larsson, but To his astonishment, he found that the ball was in front of him, and Bruce wanted to rush forward to make a clearance, but Pires was one step ahead of him. With a flick of his ankle, the ball went straight to the chest, hitting Bruce behind, and Trezeguet succeeded in offside. Catch the ball inside **.

According to the technical characteristics of Trezeguet in the past, he would shoot without hesitation, but today Pallister obviously took care of his side. When Trezeguet swung his leg to pretend to shoot, Pallister would The sliding tackle went out to block his goal space, but Trezeguet just feinted and controlled the ball on the spot, and the goal was wide open for Manchester United.

Schmeichel abandoned the goal, Trezeguet passed the ball in front of the goal, Larsson rushed forward with a tackle, and the ball crashed into the net.

Millwall scored! This attack from Pires is fantastic, we have seen Trezeguet improve a lot this season, he is now more and more confident in controlling the ball, from running to false The action assists Larson, all show that his threat in the world is increasing. Larson has scored 38 goals in all competitions this season, although there is still a difference of 5 goals from Shearer in the Premier League shooter list Goals, but he has been impeccable in his debut season in the Premier League.

Ferguson closed his eyes and frowned when he saw the ball lost, his face was not very good-looking.

In the first round of the season, Millwall went through the gate of Manchester United five times in an away game. Ferguson realized that Bruce could no longer reach the level of Manchester United, so he started to use David May as a central defender. Manchester United performed steadily in the second half of the league. It has something to do with the tacit understanding between David May and Pallister. If it wasn't for the league, he probably wouldn't use Bruce in this semifinal. David May is a player who is prone to injuries. Ferguson wants to be better to protect him.

Annoyed that his team had lost the ball, Ferguson glanced at Aldridge again, thinking: This game is so desperate, is the FA Cup more important than the league?

Aldridge is really helpless, he can't tell the boys: Hey, let's save some energy in the FA Cup and go for the league championship.

What if both sides fail?

Aldridge should bear this responsibility, but he can't bear it too obviously. It's not that the players can't bear such a failure, and he is also worried that it will create a gap with the players.

All he can do is trust the players and encourage them rather than discourage them.

Today's Millwall players are really playing hard.

Especially defensively, striker and the two wide midfielders, Pires and Schneider defended deep in the second half, not just defensively, Larsson and Trezeguet also came back to participate in the half field disturbance.

When attacking, they rushed forward together.

Before the end of the first half, Thuram unexpectedly ran to the front of the ball and once again pierced the goal guarded by Schmeichel with a long shot.

Millwall returned to the dressing room with a two-goal lead.

Aldridge was the last to walk into the locker room, and the players were visibly tired, panting and sweating.

In the past half month, they have played three games, two league games and one FA Cup with Newcastle United, and today is the fourth game.

But they didn't want to stop, they didn't want to be rotated, they just wanted to sprint towards the championship with all their might.

The fighting spirit shown by the players prevented Aldridge's originally planned rotation from being implemented.

He was worried about losing points in the league after the rotation, so what would the main players who were rotated think?

Boss, if we're on the court we'll win the game, we won't lose the title.

And what kind of pressure will the young players in the rotation have in their hearts? The responsibility for failure can overwhelm their psychological defenses.

After weighing, Aldridge can only let the main force fight.

The physiotherapists were massaging the players' muscles. These physiotherapists who were familiar with the players all looked dignified.

The mental state of the players is very excited, but their physical state is already approaching the edge of the limit.

They shouldn't be allowed to fight like this anymore, otherwise they will suffer from cramps at the slightest, and at the worst, they will be injured.

Aldridge wrote and drew on the tactical board, telling the players to play smarter and more in control in the second half, instead of jumping too high to avoid being counterattacked by Manchester United.

The players took his remarks seriously.

Aldrich actually lied.

A two-goal lead is not safe at all. Before Manchester United counterattacked in the second half, as long as Millwall scored another goal, Manchester United would give up completely and shift their minds to the league.

But he can't let the players take the risk of injury to go on like this.

In the second half, Aldridge removed Schneider and replaced Vieira, which was also a strategy to strengthen the control of the midfield.

To Aldrich's surprise, Manchester United removed Cantona and replaced him with Sirkes. After all, the king is already 30 years old, and the following league schedule is very dense, and Manchester United still needs to rely on his performance.

Aldridge also substituted Larsson and Pires ten minutes into the second half, allowing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Andriy Shevchenko to take their place.

The second half of the game was a fierce confrontation with strangulation in the midfield. The duel between Keengabart and Nedved and Vieira was evenly matched, but Manchester United's central organization could not penetrate into the hinterland of the frontcourt at all, and could only rely on Two wings, but once Giggs and Beckham are restricted, Manchester United's offense will be helpless.

Aldridge looked calm on the sidelines, praying in his heart that the players would not be injured, and at the same time examining Manchester United's tactical system.

Ferguson has not yet found the most suitable offensive code for Manchester United. It can be said that after Paul Ince left, Ferguson has been experimenting with Manchester United's midfield configuration. After En and Scholes set up one defense and one attack, Manchester United completely solved the problem of offensive and defensive balance in the midfield. Coupled with the mature wings flying together, Manchester United has the capital to compete for the Champions League based in Europe, instead of Then there is the pseudo-strong team that is difficult to qualify for the Champions League group stage.

The FA Cup semi-final ended with Millwall beating Manchester United 2-0.

Ferguson was not in a hurry to return to Manchester after the game, but got together with Aldridge in the office for a while.

The two inevitably chatted about the situation of the Premier League championship. They didn't know whether Ferguson was sincere or hypocritical, but he told Aldridge with a sincere expression: If Manchester United cannot win the championship, then he hopes that Millwall will finally win the championship. .

Obviously, Ferguson's selfishness was mixed in it. He and Keegan did not deal with each other. Moreover, if Kevin Keegan won the championship in the end, Ferguson would definitely lose face in the end.

Aldridge didn't smugly smack his hands to guarantee the ticket, but only said that he would see the results in the next half month.

He can't be optimistic, the main players in the team must rest, but he can't easily rotate, which makes every game full of unpredictability, rather than the disparity in strength on paper.

Before leaving, Ferguson put down his wine glass, shook his head and said, Aldrich, this wine is really bad. I'll give you a few bottles of wine next time, let's put them here. Every time we fight, you can use them to entertain me, lest I'm drinking this shit out of courtesy.

Aldridge shrugged and said indifferently: Okay, you can send me a few more boxes.

Stam, Solskjaer, Nedved, these three people, you make a price.

Aldrich almost blurted out that he was incomplete.

Why are you poaching again!

Aldrich spread his hands and said, Not for sale.

Ferguson shook his head and said, If Manchester United really launches an offensive against these three, will Millwall be able to keep them?

Aldrich was silent.

Ferguson regretted it half a season ago. He offered Millwall before the season and wanted to introduce Larsson or Trezeguet. If he promised the opponent's main position in the conditions offered, then at least one of these two must have already Putting on the Red Devils jersey, but at that time he still had great confidence in Andy Cole. Unexpectedly, Cole's performance this season was too bad. As of today, his number of goals is not as good as last season After halfway joining, he scored more goals in the first half of the season, just 10. Last season, Cole scored 12 goals in 18 games for Manchester United.

Ferguson continued: Millwall has a lot of central defenders. Without Stam, you still have the Spaniard. The Italian boy is also doing well. Isn't there another Richards? Nedved is Millwall I will send you an offer that absolutely satisfies you. Solskjaer’s boy, it’s a waste to stay with you. You don’t give him a chance at all. Why did that Ukrainian boy get more chances than him recently? A lot? Maybe it's because of tactics, but I think the Norwegian boy can play the main force at Manchester United.

Aldridge closed his eyes and smiled wryly.

Old man, I have never denied Babyface's ability, but you don't know how amazing the power of the Ukrainian nuclear warhead is after it exploded.

I'll talk to the three players and I'll give you an answer.

Aldrich raised his hand to see off the guest.

As Ferguson said, Millwall has a lot of central defenders in reserve, and if Manchester United wants to dig out excellent central defenders who have already trained and grown up, Manchester United's class of 92 has begun to provoke the mainstay. Now Ferguson has no patience to slowly train new players. After all, the price is cruel. Manchester United's defense urgently needs first-class stars who can fight. Therefore, Stam is naturally the first choice.

The season is not over yet. Not only is Aldridge under tremendous pressure, but troubles also follow one after another. Which head coach can be happy when he is poached as the main player? (To be continued.) (m)