The defensive play of 'full-court pressing' may sound a bit lofty, but in fact, the purpose of using 'full-court pressing' is to limit the opponent's cooperation and make it easier for one's own side to launch a counterattack.

The general defense is to establish a defensive line in the backfield, and it takes time to steal and then attack.

'Full-court pressing' is likely to complete the defense in the midfield, so that the counter-attack can be launched more quickly, and it is easier for the team to create effective scoring opportunities.

Many teams and Millwall games will use the full-court pressing style of play, but most of the teams use the effect is not very good, the reason is that Millwall's tactics are not targeted, and they will play very passive when encountering strong teams, and the opponent can completely control the situation, so there is naturally no need to sacrifice physical fitness to do restrictions.

Millwall's simple and direct style of play also made the full-court pressing lose most of its effect.

Millwall's overall tactics are very clear, the means are the traditional defensive counterattack, high cross and long shot, but the cooperation between the players and the players is not close, the opponent is a man-to-man full-court defense, the pay and the gain are not proportional.

Millwall and strong teams that are good at full-court pressing, such as Arsenal led by Arsene Wenger, fast and smooth attack is Arsenal's style, and their defense starts from the front interception, but when Arsenal and Millwall play, they will not make too much use of full-court pressing, mainly because Millwall's defense is very backward and does not fight with Arsenal for midfield control.

Zhang Yang also did not expect that Mourinho would increase the 'full-court pressing' to limit the performance of Millwall's players, so as to allow Chelsea to give full play to the strength of the squad.

That's a surprising idea!

'Full-court pressing' will give Chelsea and Millwall players more opportunities to meet directly, the stronger the Chelsea players, the more they can grab the ball, in order to limit the play of Millwall's individual players, when the play of a single player is restricted, it breaks Millwall's 'tactical foundation', not to mention the overall performance.

But in any case, 'full-court pressing' or 'full-court pressing', adopting such a strategy for Millwall, the cost cannot be proportional to the benefit, Chelsea has to pay a lot of physical energy, in order to limit Millwall's limited number of attacks, to achieve the purpose of making Chelsea want to control the whole field and not have 'a little accident'.

That's a bit of a bully!

Zhang Yang understands the reason why Mourinho did this, and that is because Millwall's attacking efficiency is too high.

Millwall played against strong teams, every game was very passive, but most of the games were won, the key is their efficiency and high efficiency, the limited number of attacks can score, there is nothing surprising, but it is very amazing that it is like this in a row.

How did Millwall do it?

The media like to put it down to the fact that Millwall players are playing better, but Mourinho doesn't think that way, it's not right to do it once, twice, three times, four times.

Mourinho, of course, couldn't find a reason.

Other Premier League managers can't find a reason, they can only understand the effect of Millwall's tactics, and now Mourinho must also 'beware' of this, do his best to limit Millwall's every attack, let Chelsea and Millwall really fight, wear down their fitness and form, for this purpose, even if it is worth paying more.

Others naturally don't know that Zhang Yang has 'supernatural abilities' and can change the game slightly.

But Chelsea's tactics have certainly worked.

Chelsea is pressed in a full formation, several fronts do not return, they have been staying in Millwall's half, their pressing is also a full formation press, a single player pressing is not successful, the follow-up players will be made up immediately, again and again pressing, so that Millwall in their own half did not dare to control the ball, and the cooperation was completely unable to play.

This tactic is very pestering.

There's just one football on the pitch and when the ball gets to a certain position, there won't be more than two players coming forward to press it, Chelsea are in full formation, the front court is full of people, and the overlapping lines also allow them to step forward with peace of mind because there are team-mates behind them to defend solidly.

The flaw in this style of play is also obvious, that is, the lack of defense at the back.

If suddenly you have a kick-off with a big kick-off, Millwall can break down all of Chelsea's defence with a single fast runner.

Mourinho is not for a gamble, but he is confident in Chelsea's efficiency, such a close pressing, there will naturally be defensive problems at the back, but Millwall also have to seize the opportunity, let alone a short time, even if it is extended to the whole game, how many chances can Millwall have? Chelsea, on the other hand, could play 90 minutes around Millwall in the half, and they would certainly have scored more goals than Millwall.

That's the key!

————

Fifteen minutes into the game, Chelsea's tactics worked, Millwall was suppressed in the half, unable to attack at all, the so-called 'big kick-off' only existed in theory, and Darren Bent at the front had only one touch so far, and he was forced by the opponent to kick the ball out of bounds.

Millwall was completely confined.

Chelsea, on the other hand, were on the attack, bombarding Millwall with five shots in the space of fifteen minutes in just one game, two of which hit the woodwork.

The game situation worries Millwall supporters.

"Millwall has been so passive!"

'So far, Chelsea have 79 per cent possession, almost four times more than Millwall!'

"Millwall had almost no offense, and the game was completely reduced to a half-time battle of attack and defense!"

'From a situation point of view, Millwall's chances are too small, they certainly can't keep the goal, and it's ......even more impossible to talk about scoring.

"The gap between the two sides is too big!"

“……”

Football commentators began to comment on past matches, and their unanimous opinion was that Millwall had little chance, and that was probably the opinion of all the fans who watched the game, because Millwall was too passive to even score at half-time, so how could they expect to win?

on the field.

The confrontation between the two sides was fierce.

Millwall's game was very passive and it was like an offensive and defensive drill, but there were some highlights, such as the confrontation between Jody Morris and Frank Lampard.

The two are old rivals.

Three years ago, Morris and Frank Lampard were rivals, and when Frank Lampard arrived at Chelsea, he quickly became the home team, while Morris was reduced to a substitute, or even a substitute who did not take his turn.

The two were really rivals since Millwall's promotion to the Premier League this season.

Morris admires Lampard's ability, looking back on the previous competition, he knows that he is indeed inferior to Lampard, not because of the coach's 'partiality' or something, but even if he knows that Lampard is very good, he is still very unconvinced, especially after becoming the core of Millwall, following Millwall to the Premier League, and now beating Chelsea to become the first in the league, Morris is even more unconvinced.

Frank Lampard?

Frank Lampard is Chelsea's midfielder, a big player in the England national team, but he is also a big midfielder in Millwall, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is the heart of the midfield.

The two are also midfielders, one for Chelsea and the other for Millwall, why are they worse than Frank Lampard? Now back at Stamford Bridge, in front of tens of thousands of Chelsea fans, is the best chance to prove it.

Morris played with that in mind, and he took the initiative to pester Frank Lampard.

Frank Lampard is a key target for Millwall, not only because he is good at team-mates, but also because of his long-range shots from the perimeter, and Morris defends Lampard, limiting the team-mates and always being careful not to let him get on his feet.

In the game, the two bumped into each other more often.

Due to Millwall's overall disadvantage, Morris has little to say in attack and has been decent defensively, causing Lampard a lot of problems.

So far, Lampard has yet to have a shot on target.

In fact, the two were the focal points of both teams, and long before the game began, the media compared the two, and the BBC's premiere of "Football Tonight" invited four influential commentators and celebrities in football to rate their strength, with Frank Lampard scoring 8.5 points and Morris only 7.5 points.

Although Morris is a bit inferior in terms of overall individual ability, he and Frank Lampard are not the same type of player.

Morris is a 'technical' midfielder, rarely fighting with the opponent in the game, but using an excellent big picture to drive the coordination and rhythm of the whole team.

Frank Lampard, on the other hand, is more physical.

Although Frank Lampard is the core of Chelsea, it is only the core on the surface, Chelsea's attack is mostly launched from the two wings, and there is also Makelle in the middle, Lampard does not organize attacks much, he relies more on individual ability to do defense and attack.

In terms of technique at his feet, Morris also has an advantage, and he occasionally puts on a good pass, but Frank Lampard rarely dribbles and it is difficult to see Lampard alone with the ball in a game.

Frank Lampard has the edge when it comes to one-on-one defence, perhaps because he is stronger and has more experience in the Premier League.

However, on the field, it was mostly Morris defending Frank Lampard, defending against attack, and Lampard's defensive ability could not be reflected, and Morris's overall view allowed him to block Lampard's passing and receiving routes many times.

This is crucial.

Frank Lampard has been so affected that he can't easily link up with his team-mates, and every time he catches the ball, he has to not only run hard, but also struggle with his brain cells to get rid of Morris or find other openings.

Frank Lampard's performance suffered, limiting Chelsea's attacking momentum as a whole, with Chelsea still failing to score after 25 minutes played.

This may be thanks to two Chelsea players: Essien and Maniche.

Essien, needless to say.

The Frenchman has not performed well, but he has been trusted by Mourinho, probably the Portuguese's patience is running out, Essien still has no performance in this game, he is almost a central defender, has been staying at the back, and rarely gets the ball when he comes forward to participate in the attack.

Maniche has only just arrived at Chelsea and Mourinho wants Maniche to increase the flexibility of his midfield, as the media criticized: "Chelsea's midfield is almost a defensive line!" ”

Claude Makelle, Frank Lampard, Essien, all of the top defensive midfielders, made the Chelsea midfield solid while also making the midfield lose flexibility.

That's one of the reasons why Chelsea rely on the wings in attack.

Maniche is a former Porto player and the hero of Mourinho's lead to Porto's 'treble', Mourinho thinks he knows Maniche very well, and he hopes that as a Portuguese player, Maniche can make the midfield more flexible, so he starts to let him join Chelsea.

Perhaps, as with many previous big-money transfers, it is not easy for players from the Portuguese Super League to adapt to the Premier League, Maniche can only be said to be 'very average' in the last game, and it is absolutely impossible to talk about excellence, and the same is true in this game, Maniche does not seem to be comfortable with too many physical collisions, he cannot find his place in the front field, and has little contribution to Chelsea's attack.

This time, perhaps.

While Frank Lampard was heavily defended, Chelsea team-mates finally remembered that there was another Maniche, Crespo was such a brilliant star who wanted to pass the ball back to Frank Lampard, only to find that it was blocked in the middle and kicked it to Maniche on the other side.

Crespo was going to ask Maniche to help him complete the 'two-by-one', facing the ball and then picking up the pass, but Maniche didn't have that kind of awareness, or he and Crespo didn't have a tacit understanding, and when he got the ball, Maniche took a step forward.

This step is facing the ball, and the force is a little difficult to control, and the ball is lying a little bigger.

Livermore was at the front end of the penalty area, running towards Maniche, he didn't expect Maniche to 'pass' the ball to himself, his brain was a little dazed for a while, but his body movements were not affected in the slightest, he subconsciously swept the front of the field, and kicked the ball over.

"Bang!"

The ball was kicked across the halfway line!

Darren Bent had been keeping an eye on the backfield, which was supposed to be Chelsea's attacking opportunity, and he didn't pay much attention to it, but he didn't expect Livermore to complete the steal, he glanced at the direction of the football, and immediately turned and rushed forward.

John Terry was standing next to Darren Bent before, but Chelsea's continuous offensive made his spirit a little relaxed, and when Darren Bent rushed up, Terry reacted and ran up, observing the position of the ball while running, but what he didn't expect was that he was getting farther and farther away from Darren Bent.

Twenty metres into the run, Darren Bent glanced backwards and with a cushion on his back foot, the ball was cushioned right in front of him.

This wonderful stop made the scene exclaim!

"It's so beautiful! Classic ball control! ”

"Darren Bent! He managed to get the pass! ...... with a textbook-standard move"

"Wonderful! It's so exciting! ”

"Just this one catch is not something that ordinary players can do!"

“……”

In the astonishment of many, Chelsea fans were already panicking because there was no one in front of Darren Bent, John Terry was five metres away from him, and it was impossible for anyone else to come back.

"Fight back! Look at this offensive ......"

Darren Bent endured the excitement and dribbled forward, and when he was about to go to the penalty line, goalkeeper Petr had already rushed out, but Darren Bent dribbled the ball too smoothly, and when he reached the penalty line, he calmly got up and came with a high lob shot.

Petr Cech could only sound as he watched the football fly overhead, and then—

Crash into the goal!

There was silence at Stamford Bridge.