The Young Lion

The following night, Old Trafford.

Aldrich sat in a suit and leather shoes in the stands, and beside him was Boas, who was as young as him.

The first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Manchester United and Juventus is about to start.

When Aldridge in the stands was spotted by the live TV camera, it quickly attracted the attention of the narrator.

Andy Gray even said with a smile: Hall seems to be full of confidence in the result of defeating Bayern Munich 1:0. Now he is here to check the state of his opponents in the final. Oh, think about it. Yesterday's semi-final results, Juventus have had a better result than they have faced Monaco in the past, they swept Dortmund away in Germany last time, and in the second leg at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Hall clearly has the chance to win.

Aldridge appeared in the stands to watch the game in person, but not to inspect the opponents in the final. That is too far away. The suspense still exists whether he can pass Bayern Munich.

But he did come to observe Manchester United, and he needs to make a bold decision: whether to send a substitute in the FA Cup semi-final.

The FA Cup semi-final is held in the middle of the week after the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final. It is a great test for the physical fitness of the main lineup. Now that the third line is competing for the championship, Aldridge needs to do in the formation More nuanced.

When the game started, at Melanie's home in Liverpool, an hour's drive away, her younger brother watched the game while cursing Manchester United for losing, and found Aldridge coming to Old Trafford, so he went upstairs Shouted: Sister, Aldridge is in Manchester.

Melanie, who was expected to give birth in less than three months, appeared at the stairs on the second floor, overlooking the hall on the first floor, and asked in surprise, Did he call you?

No, he was on TV, watching Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Melanie was so angry that she turned her head and walked into the room, slamming the door behind her.

The distance was less than an hour's drive away, and Aldridge didn't come to see her, which made her very sad.

However, the two are still in the cold war, and neither of them took the initiative to compromise, and Melanie has no reason to accuse Aldrich of anything.

Boas sat next to Aldridge and kept asking questions about the game, and Aldridge patiently communicated with him. At Old Trafford, Manchester United took the lead in conceding the ball. Conte's shocking blow made the hearts of all Red Devils fans Got hit hard.

The situation at Manchester United is not good.

Boas made such an exclamation.

Aldrich said without changing his face: The group of Red Devils trained by Ferguson has reached their peak state. The average age is the golden stage of a team. The experience accumulated in high-level competitions and the overall running-in of the team Maturity, what is the scariest thing? You know?

Boas asked curiously, What?

Damn! God's tenacity! This is far more important than paper strength. There are many star-studded teams that lose the ball first and then fall apart, but you look at Manchester United. They never showed signs of backing down. United's consistency has been suffocating in a nearly two-month unbeaten run.

To put it bluntly, it is aura, which is also the most troublesome thing for Aldrich every season.

Every year, old players leave Millwall and new players arrive, especially young players. To cultivate the technical and tactical abilities of young players, this can be done step by step, but it is very difficult to cultivate the spirit. Fortunately, he has Ned Wade, Southgate, and Larson are the three captains. He can't imagine that if they hadn't stayed on the team all these years, no matter how many young talents he has, he might not be able to play. tough battle!

At Old Trafford, Manchester United relied on Giggs' goal to equalize the score in the 91st minute of the game. The first round got a 1:1 result at home.

Although Ancelotti, who succeeded Lippi in Juventus, was disappointed with conceding a goal, it can be seen that he is still very happy on the whole. Not only did he not lose in the first round, but he also scored an away goal. Juventus advanced The outlook for the final is very positive.

When the Manchester United game ended, the tone of Fleet Street changed immediately. They were pessimistic about Manchester United and favored Millwall. The two Premier League teams played at home first. Manchester United drew and Millwall won. Hopes grew, and calls for a civil war in England faded.

On the weekend, the 33rd round of the Premier League kicked off. Aldridge led the main lineup to attack Martin O'Neill's Leicester City as a guest.

Martin - O'Neill and Aldridge are friends in private, but on the court, the two can be ruthless.

Under his leadership, Leicester City regrettably lost to Tottenham in the League Cup final this season, but in the standings, they still have a chance to win the UEFA Cup tickets. Martin O'Neill continues the tradition and let his The team played a defensive counterattack at home.

Millwall's poor performance was affected by the Champions League and Bayern Munich in the middle of the week. In the end, the two teams shook hands 0:0.

Aldridge still shook hands with O'Neal in demeanor after the game.

Both of them were actually a little unhappy.

Because everyone wants to win.

In the same round of the league, Millwall had good news and bad news.

Manchester United was also affected by the European war. On the weekend, they were tied by Blackburn Rovers, who were aiming to relegation. The score was also 0:0. Millwall's advantage over Manchester United was still 2 points.

However, both Chelsea and Arsenal won the same city derby.

Chelsea beat Wimbledon 2:1 in the away game.

Arsenal triumphed 3:1 at White Hart Lane!

The situation of the Premier League championship is unpredictable.

Millwall takes the lead and leads Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal by 2 points!

With 5 rounds left in the league, who dares to say that Millwall is the favorite to win the championship? They also have direct dialogues with Chelsea and Arsenal. The only positive factor is that they have the advantage of home court, but they still have to take into account the European war!

Fleet Street is going crazy with excitement!

In the most watched football in this country, the chaotic situation in the top league has affected the nerves of countless people. They are the media, even if they only report some trivial matters every day, the newspapers will sell well.

Surprisingly, the coaches of the top four teams seem to be invisible to the championship situation, and they all keep a low profile by coincidence.

No one tried to put pressure on the opponent, and there was no sword, light or sword in sight.

The reason is very simple, two tigers compete, the opponent is clear, the top four contend for hegemony, whether it is Aldridge or Ferguson, even if it is Wenger or Vialli, who are they fighting psychologically?

At this time, it is no longer a situation where someone beats someone down.

Just like Ferguson destroyed Keegan to the point of collapse, and Newcastle United finally collapsed. Now, who does Ferguson expect to collapse?

Now is to do your own job well, let your team concentrate on the game, and avoid making mistakes.

Now the comparison is who is more stable.

Teams that make mistakes are left behind, and the punishment can be fatal.

Next season, the Champions League will expand to the top 32, and the Premier League only has 3 places. Among the top four, who the hell is willing to play in the UEFA Cup.

However, Ferguson still bombarded in front of the media. The target was not any opponent, but the FA.

The FA arranged the FA Cup semi-final between Millwall and Manchester United at Leeds United's home stadium, Elland Road.

Ferguson Thunder was furious, thinking that the FA was favoring Millwall.

Perhaps in terms of popularity support and geographical factors, it is a neutral position for Millwall, and there are no positive factors.

But it was extremely difficult for Manchester United to go to Yorkshire to play.

The hatred between Leeds United and Manchester United is well known, but this hatred did not originate in football, but in the bloody war between Lancashire and Yorkshire for the throne hundreds of years ago. There are rivalries in every field, not just in football.

No matter how Ferguson criticized the FA and was even fined by the FA, the game still had to go on as usual.

This season has come to the final stage, there is one less game to watch, and both Millwall and Manchester United still have the hope of winning the championship in the third line, so the match between the two teams, no matter who the opponent is, will be a hard-to-find spectacle. What's more, the two teams played against each other directly. After a game, one team was destined to bid farewell to the other front.

At Elland Road, when Millwall's starting lineup came out, everyone was shocked!

Manchester United dispatched most of the main players, and the gorgeous attacking group in the frontcourt was not bad.

Millwall sent all the substitutes!

Goalkeeper: Keller.

Defenders: Mills, Ferdinand, Neil, Ashley Cole.

Midfielders: Glenshire, Gattuso, Lampard, Duff.

Forwards: Klose, Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Just looking at the formation tactics of both sides, the two teams are very similar, both playing 442.

Whether it is the configuration of one offense and one defense in the midfield, the role of one breakthrough and one pass from the wing, or the partnership of two forwards, it is almost the same.

However, in terms of posture, Millwall dispatched a substitute, so they should focus on defensive counterattacks and let Manchester United attack.

Aldridge and Ferguson, who were described by Fleet Street as absolute rivals, both stood on the sidelines to oversee the battle.

Ferguson couldn't figure out what the hell Aldridge was doing!

According to the situation, Millwall is definitely better than Manchester United.

Winning the first round of the Champions League, the team is high-spirited. Although the league is tied, Manchester United is also tied, and Millwall is still the leader.

Manchester United went all out in this game, but Millwall seemed to be giving up voluntarily.

Maybe not, wouldn't Arsenal be overthrown by this team at home?

Aldridge dared to be a full substitute, and his courage and courage were appreciated by the outside world.

But if he loses the semi-finals, he will probably be sprayed as a fool.

His thinking is very clear.

If the main force is used, first of all, it will not be conducive to the continuous multi-line battle. The main players have played two consecutive games in the past week. At this time, physical fitness must be allocated reasonably.

Secondly, if Millwall makes a strong attack, Manchester United's offensive and defensive system will at least tend to be balanced. In that case, the game may become a fierce strangulation like Bayern.

However, Manchester United suffered two consecutive draws in consecutive battles, and their spirits were frustrated. The unfavorable situation in the first round of the Champions League will distract them. Coupled with the stimulation of Millwall's dispatch of substitutes, they will inevitably attack in their posture.

The essence of Millwall's substitute formation 442 system is to counterattack, not to advance layer by layer in the front of the positional battle.

Sure enough, Manchester United attacked at Elland Road as soon as they came up, probably because they wanted to score an early goal to take the lead, and then save their energy to consume their opponents, in exchange for the greatest victory at the smallest cost.

Aldridge stood on the sidelines and watched the defense line precariously. Hei Feng Shuang Sha was active, but he was calm.

Ferdinand and Mills, these two defenders have made significant progress this season, and they are becoming more and more generals. Allowing them to withstand the impact of some high-level forwards can accelerate their growth.

This kind of game is also what Gattuso and Lampard need.

In the opening 20 minutes, Manchester United's combination of side and center tactics did not achieve very good results. The offense was thunderous and rainy, and it only blossomed but did not bear fruit.

Beckham's crosses are now called master class.

Because his cross is no longer looking for a certain striker's head, but directly leading the striker to score!

However, Ferdinand and Neil's double central defender was very solid in defense, and the defense was compressed in the center without giving the opponent any chance, especially Ferdinand, who is in excellent form today.

Seeing that the team was able to withstand Manchester United's offensive pressure, Aldridge showed admiration on the sidelines, and then his eyes became more and more fierce. (To be continued.) ()