Neil Field.

Millwall's home game against Roma was played in the 33rd minute of the first half, and the score was still 0-0, with the home team Millwall not scoring and the away team Roma not scoring.

Millwall launched one attack after another.

Mid lane.

Sidewalk.

Mid and wide lanes.

Millwall's coordination is gorgeous, and the continuous inverted feet make the attack very exciting, but it seems that there is still something missing to break through the Roma defense, just relying on continuous passing, it is difficult to penetrate the Roma defense, but it is Roma who has played some advantages.

Roma had three shots on goal in the last ten minutes, two of which were in the woodwork, while Millwall had only one, also in the woodwork, but the ball was easily parried away by goalkeeper Doni.

The game has come to this point that many people are starting to see some of the doorways.

Millwall's offensive may seem flashy, but compared to the top attacking teams, such as Arsenal and Barcelona, they are a little less penetrating, and their cooperation is more carried out in the midfield position.

This is also the advantage of 'dual core'.

There are two cores that will allow for more options for other players, from the back to midfield, from midfield to front, and from the wing to the middle.

But that's about it.

Without penetrating passes, it will not be easy to break down Roma's defence.

Millwall's performance was positive, but many people began to worry about Millwall.

Their worries are not unwarranted.

In the 37th minute of the game, Totti took the ball in front of the field, made a one-two with Mancini Jr., and then walked alone, past the defending Darren Ward, and shot directly in the penalty area, which seemed to be a running shot, failed to control the strength, and the football flew high over the crossbar.

Millwall supporters let out a long breath.

Escaped!

It was too dangerous just now, Totti had already shaken off Darren Ward and was in a good position to shoot, but it was only a small mistake to hit the ball a little high.

Stadium radio Mike Johnson said, "Good luck! Totti made a mistake! But that can't hide how dangerous it was just now! After Totti cooperated with his teammates, he shook Ward away in an instant! ”

"The Prince of Rome showed the quality of a top star at Neil Stadium, he was extremely good from the start of the game, even Livermore, who was defending, couldn't do anything good against him......"

Millwall were glad Totti didn't finish the goal.

Roma fans have some regrets.

Zhang Yang, who sat in the Millwall coach's box, was the last one to be afraid, he predicted the goal two minutes in advance, and it was too late to adjust, so he could only use 'follow his words' to organize Totti.

He did it.

Totti missed the shot and wasted the best chance, but one time it worked, the next time?

Words can only be used once.

With Millwall's attack unfavorable and the battle for midfield at a disadvantage, Roma's dominance on the pitch is becoming more and more obvious, and the balance of victory has tilted in Roma's favor.

"This won't work!"

Zhang Yang has been thinking of a way.

Now the question is: "If you break through the Italian formation." ”

Millwall's cooperation is good, the constant passing is dazzling, but there are not many ways to get to the penalty area, Roma attaches great importance to defense, and the formation is also pulled back, when the football reaches the vicinity of the penalty area, it will encounter high-density defense, and no matter how smooth the cooperation can not be played.

Why?

Zhang Yang frowned.

————

Waiting until the end of the first half, neither team scored, the score was still 0-0, but the unfavorable situation made it clear to many that Millwall were at a disadvantage, and they looked a little helpless against Roma's defence.

This can be seen in the data analysis.

Millwall's possession rate of 51 per cent was higher than Roma's, but Roma's five shots on goal compared to Roma's nine, nearly double the number of shots on goal, were enough to prove how dangerous Millwall was to the Roma goal.

When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half, Zhang Yang immediately turned around and returned to the locker room.

He figured something out.

When formulating a strategy to deal with Roma before the game, the coaching staff also considered Roma's defensive problems, but they definitely didn't expect it to be so tricky.

In reality, however, this is not the case.

The 'two-core' tactic is still useful, and the fact that the team can play a fluid combination and compete with Roma in midfield is almost not too disadvantaged, which is enough to prove a lot of things.

In the middle of Roma's midfield, the three players are De Rossi, Pizarro and Totti.

What about Millwall?

Morris, Braniff, plus a David Livermore, all three players are played in the lower leagues, even if they are already well-known stars by now, Zhang Yang knows in his heart that there is still a gap between them and the world's top stars in terms of technical strength.

Take Jody Morris, for example.

When many British media commented on Morris, they all thought that he could be compared with Gerrard and Lampard, but it was only 'comparable', his foot skills were not bad, and the overall situation was also good.

Braniff's comprehensive ability is not bad, but it is a mid-grade star in the Premier League, and he is definitely not comparable to a superstar, otherwise Zhang Yang would not let him play 'semi-main force', and he can be directly positioned as the absolute core.

Among Millwall's central trio, David Livermore is the strongest, because he has very outstanding characteristics: extremely strong, very physical, plus the ability to shoot on goal, three beyond the average player's ability, making him a top star all of a sudden.

But there is also a distinction between the top stars.

It's like the feeling of a Roma player, Livermore is a 'Gattuso-style' player, his overall defense does not rely on the big picture, but on a lot of physical strength, and there is not much support for the team in attack, and the last shot is not bad, but most of the time, he rarely gets a chance.

The combination of these three players, and the combination of De Rossi, Pizarro, and Totti, the gap is too obvious, but the two sides met at half-time, Millwall had a disadvantage, but the disadvantage was not so obvious, and the possession rate alone was higher than that of Roma.

That's where the 'dual-core' tactic comes in.

Possession does not represent absolute dominance, but it can also represent part of the situation, more possession, less attacks.

The reason why Millwall's attack on the Roma goal is weak is mainly in the front, or mainly in the choice of 'goal'.

If last season's Millwall team played simple and rough tactics against Roma, this problem would never have arisen, and the reason is obvious: the team's style has changed too much since adapting to the 'two-core' style of play.

Millwall seem to have gone from being a 'technically rough' team to a 'technically gorgeous' one.

This transformation is so fast!

If you want to say that the technical style is changing to gorgeous, Zhang Yang still has a supportive attitude, anyone wants their team to be a very technical team, but the change is too fast to cause some problems, such as the players on the field, like to pursue cooperation, like to constantly short passes, and play a gorgeous offensive.

In many cases, a long pass can solve the problem, but it requires several players to reverse their feet in a row and play an offensive that the opponent has praised so far.

That's not practical.

This is the problem that Zhang Yang identified.

————

The atmosphere in Millwall's dressing room was a bit solemn, and even though the first half was a minor disadvantage, anyone could appreciate the difficulty of the game, most notably the fact that they seemed unable to break down the opposition defence.

A lot of people are also discussing.

They feel that Roma's defense seems to be the most difficult defense, much stronger than Chelsea and Manchester United.

Several players also communicated with Zambrotta, and Zambrotta said, "I think it's okay, Roma's defense is not strong, compared to Juventus. ”

"Really?"

"How is that possible! I don't think we're going to be able to get through it! ”

"yes, they're too tough!"

Zambrotta doesn't know why the team is having problems, but he knows that Roma are not good defensively.

In the entire Serie A, there are too many teams that defend better than Roma - AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan, Lazio, etc., even Fiorentina's defense is not weaker than Roma, because Roma's strength is attack, and the core players in their team are all front.

Totti, Perrotta, Mancini Jr., including Cassano and Montella in the past, most of the players in the Roma team who can name are front-court players.

Now the team's attack is not good, Zambrotta doesn't know why, "Maybe it has something to do with European experience?" The team is too new to Italian football. ”

Zhang Yang walked in.

Normally, Zhang Yang would not put pressure on the players, but today was different from the past, and when they saw that serious face, the players immediately closed their mouths.

Everyone looked at it.

Zhang Yang glanced at everyone, was silent for a while, and said casually and solemnly, "I think you seem to have forgotten something. ”

"Jody!"

Zhang Yang called Morris's name, "Remember, how did we play last season? What is our core attacking approach? ”

Everyone else looked at Morris.

Morris stood up a little apprehensively, hesitated for a moment before saying, "I remember the boss said that we mainly focus on simple means, long passes, counterattacks, long-range shots, etc. ”

A couple of rookie players are a bit incredible.

Millwall played so easily last season? Long balls to rush away, long shots and defensive counterattacks?

Zhang Yang nodded and continued to say seriously, "So did I say that this season I want to discard last season's style of play?" ”

Many players were stunned.

Braniff, Simpson, Morris, and Darren Bent all lowered their heads and thought carefully, and then raised their heads with surprised expressions, they kind of guessed what Zhang Yang was going to say.

Really!

Zhang Yang then said seriously, "I didn't say that I would abandon last season's style of play, not only that, but when preparing for the game, I repeatedly emphasized that I should play more directly." ”

"Our new tactics bring fluidity to the mix, but we're not Barcelona, we don't need to be in possession for a long time, we don't need to play flashy attacks, the 'double core' is just a way for us to improve, we never rely on flashy combinations to win!"

'But I see that you guys seem to have forgotten how to play, it's all about passing, passing, passing, passing, from the back to the front, from the left to the right, and I dare say you played beautifully. But it's only pretty! Where is the shot? Where is the goal? ”

"This is the Champions League! Not a charity event! ”

"We're not performing, we're fighting a life-and-death battle!"