The Young Lion

Millwall took the lead to break the deadlock! Henry opened the scoring first, and he set a new European goal record! Millwall's offense was too difficult to guard against. When Kaka rushed up, the consequences of his acceleration and impact were fundamental to the opponent. Can't keep up with his rhythm, and with a superstar like Ronaldinho who passes the ball accurately, Millwall can do whatever they want on the offensive end, as long as they have space!

Rijkaard's expression did not fluctuate much, perhaps he has already made up his mind!

After all, let Barcelona go against their accustomed skills and tactics, and use a conservative strategy to deal with Millwall. They may not be suitable for themselves, which may make Barcelona eliminated in a very aggrieved and useless way.

Whether they can advance to the top eight depends on their offense!

Puyol, the new leader of the defense, dragged Edmilson to his side and solemnly reminded him: we must ensure the tightness of the defense triangle!

Compared with the teams that Millwall played against in the past, Barcelona has also undergone many changes in players.

For example, Giuly, Eto'o, Edmilson, Belletti, Marcos, etc., these are all players who have never played against Millwall before, and they have only really fought on the field and are immersive. , to be able to discover problems that were not anticipated when preparing for the game.

They are self-correcting, adapting to the game to adjust their defensive strategy and improve their defensive quality.

Barcelona's adjustments have initially paid off. Marcos, Puyol, and Edmilson have protected the fan-shaped area inside and outside the penalty area very well, but they still haven't solved the problem on the offensive end, and they can't do better in the final pass. Players Movement does not create great opportunities.

Millwall responds to Barcelona's defensive adjustments. The offensive end will naturally make corresponding adjustments.

They strengthened their long shots from outside the penalty area. Use frequent lateral transfers in front of the penalty area to tear up the space.

When the shot angle comes up. Diagonal to the goal for a long shot from outside the penalty area.

In the 33rd minute of the first half, Ronaldo moved from the back position on the right side to the center. Ronaldinho and Kaka cooperated with continuous crosses in the center. With the support of Henry in front, Nedved in the back and Lahm in the wing, they made continuous passes Attracted Barcelona's defensive focus, and finally Lahm sent the ball to Ronaldo with a diagonal pass in the front of the midfield.

Edmilson didn't dare to pounce, and Harvey was far away. Van Bronckhorst came out a little slower, and Iniesta was thrown away when Ronaldo started.

Diagonally facing the goal outside the penalty area, Ronaldo kicked up and blasted a visually shocking world wave!

The ball went straight to the upper left corner of the goal,

Like an arrow out of the bow pierced through Barcelona's defense, and rushed into the dead corner of the goal!

Ronaldo ran around the field with open arms, full of passion!

Millwall expanded the score and led Barcelona 2:0! Their offensive methods are too rich, dribbling breakthroughs, team passing and cutting cooperation, individual long-range shots, etc. They are omnipotent on the offensive end! Barcelona is very brave, but .They can't keep Millwall from doing whatever they want in front of them!

At this moment, far away in North America, there is a famous Barcelona player who is watching the UEFA Champions League 1/8 finals in front of the TV.

It is Guardiola who intends to announce his retirement this year.

He was studying for his coaching certificate and carefully read the match between Barcelona and Millwall.

After Barcelona conceded the second goal, Guardiola was shocked and his mind was shaken.

He understands that Barcelona's offensive seems to have an advantage, but it has not created absolute control over the overall situation of the game. It is this uncontrollable environment that gives Millwall the basis for unscrupulous attacks!

The passionate Dutch offensive football concept seems to be more irrational than England's destructive rhythm.

On the other hand, Millwall is also full of passion. The offensive performance is traceless, and there is no established rule. Their players can appear in any area of ​​​​the frontcourt. However, behind this disorder and freedom, there is It is a strong rational support that can be intuitively felt.

For example, the role played by the players in offense, the tasks they undertake, and the contributions they make. In fact, as long as you don’t look at the players rigidly based on the area, it is not difficult to find this point. In defense, Millwall always maintains the center and backcourt. Strong support, the players also perform their duties, the operation is smooth, and the integrity is very tight.

Guardiola took out his notebook and started taking notes, thinking about what he saw, trying to create his own football philosophy.

 …

At the Lion King Stadium, Barcelona smelled death within less than half time.

Two goals behind, Rijkaard felt a sense of powerlessness all over his body.

Against the whole as a whole, Barcelona is not Millwall's opponent at all!

Under such circumstances, we can only hope that the individual players can perform exceptionally well.

Is this contrary to Rijkaard's coaching ideas?

Abandon the whole and rely on individual players?

No, there is no contradiction at all.

It can even be said to be the essence of the sword battle within Dutch football.

For example, Michels, the father of Total Defense, has repeatedly emphasized the importance of tactics, but some Dutch colleagues pointed out sharply: If there is no Cruyff and the Dutch geniuses of the same generation, your Total Defense is just a theory!

Yes, the Dutch football concept offensively respects the whole, but it is always unable to justify itself: why at critical moments, the role of individual heroism always seems to be more convincing than team efforts!

As a whole, Barcelona can't fight hard, and their players on the field can feel it themselves, so it has become a reflexive choice to actively start to display their personal abilities.

The result really allowed them to score a goal!

In the 41st minute of the first half, Deco passed the ball to the retreating Eto'o. The moment Eto'o stopped the ball, he wanted to complete the stoppage, but his decision to move the ball forward was pierced by Silva. !

Silva stretched out his feet to intercept, and it seemed that the first contact was successful. He touched the ball, but the interception was not clean. The ball bounced off Eto'o's leg and rolled behind Silva, stretching Silva, who lost his center of gravity behind his feet, seemed to be hit by a time lag by Eto'o, who rushed behind Silva quickly!

Although it seems that there is a certain element of luck in the stumbling, but Eto'o is in the past!

Nesta had to rush over quickly to defend, but Nesta's speed was not as good as Eto'o's. Eto'o came directly in the penalty area and sent the ball into the goal with a precise low-level shot. The inside of the far post of the goal!

Barcelona pulled one back towards the end of the first half. The goal was entirely due to Eto'o's personal ability. Thiago Silva was very annoyed by this conceded goal. He bowed his head and chattered something, shaking his head slightly. .”

At this time, Aldridge made a gesture of waving his hand in the direction of Silva on the sidelines, meaning that he should not mind.

There is no team in the world that does not concede the ball. Silvan's one is not a low-level mistake, but it must be a small mistake. The interception is not clean, and it is also related to the opponent's ability. Eto'o is not a nobody.

The first half ended with Millwall 2:1 Barcelona.

Aldridge didn't go back to the locker room immediately. He and his colleagues from the coaching staff went to the corner of the corridor to smoke a cigarette.

Comprehensive coaching staff insights on the game.

Aldridge made tactical adjustments at halftime.

Barcelona's defensive triangle pays more attention to the protection of the fan-shaped area in front of the goal. Millwall wants to get rid of the opponent's point. In addition to long-range shots, some changes must be made on the front line.

In the second half, Millwall changed the formation, at least it seemed to be an asymmetric one-sided 433.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Henry play double forwards in the penalty area, Ronaldinho and Kaka are the second echelon, delivering shells for them at the back, and relying more on the insertion of full-backs for side assists.

Rijkaard saw Millwall's adjustment in the second half, and thought that Millwall's killer move was the impact of Ronaldo and Henry strengthening the dangerous area of ​​​​the penalty area, but he guessed wrong!

One of the main tasks of Henry and Ronaldo is to increase the defensive pressure of Marcos and Puyol and distract them!

Then, the real killer move is in the back row!

Kaka, Ronaldinho?

No, this is too obvious.

Harvey can assist in the frontcourt, and Millwall can naturally press up more aggressively in the corresponding position.

It's just that the old and strong Nedved is now silent, and he is a blockbuster!

In the 59th minute of the second half, Lahm made a pass from the wing. Nedved, who was inserted in the back row, was unmarked and leaped high in the penalty area. The gates guarded by Valdes!

Aldridge waved his fist excitedly when he saw Nedved score from the sidelines.

Rijkaard lowered his head and hid his face on the sidelines. He felt that Aldridge was like a poisonous snake in his heart, which made him a little creepy. He either inadvertently paralyzed his opponent, or concealed a fatal blow under the vigorous scene!

If the score of 2:1 can make Barcelona a little bit shocked, then the score of 3:1 and the passage of game time will make Barcelona lose its composure.

In terms of team temperament, Barcelona also lost to Millwall. Now Millwall, under the guidance of Aldridge, never panics even if time is running out, and it is almost impossible to see when they lose their minds.

Barcelona, ​​on the other hand, showed anxiety and always wanted to use their personal ability to copy the goal again, but Millwall did not give them any chance. With Barcelona's frequent failures in personal breakthroughs, they lost more and more possessions. Millwall Millwall's offense is even more threatening. In the frequent rhythm changes, Millwall inserted the ball after Kaka passed in the 80th minute.

The first round of the UEFA Champions League 1/8 final between Millwall and Barcelona ended with a 4:1 victory for the defending champion at the Lion King Stadium. (To be continued..)

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