London, Stamford Bridge.

Today's game is indescribably overcrowded, the stadium seats have already been full, there are many fans either standing in the aisle of the stands, or standing in the open space behind the stands, even around the media seats, are occupied by the figures, I don't know how they 'mixed in', in fact, there are more fans who have not been able to buy tickets, so they can only watch the game in the small square in front of the stadium, through the big screen.

Half an hour before the game, the stadium was already filled with shouts.

Most of the fans have already entered, of which Chelsea fans account for the majority, the fans wearing blue jerseys, at a glance, there are almost more than 40,000 people, and there are nearly 5,000 Millwall fans to support the team, mainly because Chelsea is the home stadium, Millwall fans can't allocate too many tickets, otherwise they don't mind taking more seats in the same London area.

Before the game, many London media called for a 'London derby', and also issued a call for 'the league final is a London civil war', to show that football in the London region has 'dominated' the whole of England.

There is a little truth to this.

Chelsea and Millwall are both London Region teams, and both are not far from central London, with both teams sitting first and second in the league, and the game is indeed a 'civil war' in London.

Players from both sides are already standing in the tunnel of players.

When the referee signaled for the two teams to enter, the stadium announcer began to introduce the starting lists of both teams, and the fans in the audience cheered for each player name was read.

You can tell the popularity of a player from the size of the fans.

Chelsea, of course.

Most of the people in attendance were Chelsea fans, and their voices were completely outnumbered by Millwall, with even the least popular players shouting louder than Millwall's best players.

The most popular player in Millwall's team is not Darren Bent, nor Smitchell, but Jody Morris.

This is not surprising at all.

Jody Morris is not as famous as the first two teammates, but he is a Chelsea academy player, and he is also Chelsea's 'half of his own man', many Chelsea fans still remember him, and he was also highlighted by the stadium broadcast, "Maurice! He could probably represent Chelsea's academy despite the fact that he left ......'

"After three years of wandering, he has really grown up, we can say for sure that Morris is the core of Millwall, Millwall ranks first in the league, and being able to play the core of Millwall is enough to prove Morris's ability!"

'Maybe one day, Maurice will be back at Chelsea and we can look forward to that day......

Jose Mourinho must not be cold when he hears this, no matter what time it is, Jody Morris will not be able to get into his eyes, a guy who has failed to compete with Lampard, is he coming to Chelsea to play Lampard as a substitute?

Morris?

He's not qualified enough!

In addition, Frank Lampard is not old and has always been the most featured player at Chelsea, and playing on the bench for Frank Lampard means that there are few opportunities to play, and Morris himself certainly does not want to.

Chelsea fans are very comfortable to listen to, and Morris's ability is one thing, but the point is that he came from the Chelsea Academy, and this background has given him the natural affection of Chelsea fans, like his own child, even if he is adrift, he will be welcomed back one day.

Players from both sides played.

Zhang Yang, like Mourinho, was at the back of the team, and the two entered the pitch one after the other.

Mourinho was in front, he walked to the sideline and glanced at the field, then turned his head to look at Zhang Yang, the expression on his face was cold, Zhang Yang looked up and looked at him, showing a 'kind' smile, Mourinho snorted coldly, turned around and walked to the bench.

Zhang Yang looked at the camera pointing over and shrugged his shoulders helplessly, "He's probably in a bad mood." ”

Mourinho's mood is very heavy, and his attitude towards the game is also very serious, and he will naturally not have a good face for his 'rivals'.

It's the same with Zhang Yang.

The game is too crucial, and if we can win against Chelsea, we will seal the league title in advance.

Zhang Yang will not show too serious attitude, he hides his mood under the appearance of a smile, one is to use a smile to give the whole team confidence, let them know that the team has a good chance of winning; Second, it is a habit that he is unwilling to let the outside world see his mood, and uses a 'disguised smile' to convince the outside world that he is relaxed.

When he came to the coach's seat, Zhang Yang immediately sat down and watched the game seriously.

on the field.

The two teams have already taken sides.

There were voices of support for Chelsea everywhere, and some of them were shouting the names of the Chelsea players, which also reminded the players of what Zhang Yang said before the game, "Don't pay attention to the sound of the pitch, don't care what the situation is, we have to play as hard as we can, try our best to win!" If we can win, we can win the league! ”

"No one doesn't want a championship, right?"

"Premier League champions! Maybe none of you have thought about winning the Premier League, that would be unthinkable at Millwall, but now we are very close to the title! ”

"There's only one game! The outside world says that the game is a 'league final' and I want you to turn the game into a final! Then we won't be stressed about the rest of the matter. ”

"A Premier League championship medal is enough for most of you, and after retiring to show off to others......" The last sentence speaks to the hearts of many people.

Like, Smitchell.

Smitchell played for Liverpool for six seasons but never won the league trophy, and it is a career regret that he has not won a league title in the many years he has been in the Premier League.

This may be the only opportunity.

Others will also be hoping to beat Chelsea away so they can look forward to a winner's medal.

————

The referee blew the whistle for the start of the game.

Millwall's attack reached the edge of the Chelsea penalty area, and it was Chelsea's turn to attack.

Chelsea fell to their feet a couple of times at the back, and as Frank Lampard got the ball, the Chelsea fans in the stands made a loud noise, and with the cheers of the fans, Lampard took the ball forward and then handed it to Maniche on the wing.

Maniche sprinted forward with the ball and launched the first wave of Chelsea's attack.

The race really began.

Mourinho's left leg pressed against his right, and the constant tiptoe signaling inner peace, he chewed gum in his mouth, looking relaxed, but his eyes were fixed on the field.

Zhang Yang was more relaxed than Mourinho, playing with the cards in his hand and occasionally staring at them for a while, as if he was studying the numbers and drawings on the cards, and his attention was completely unfocused on the game.

He was probably the most 'relaxed' in the audience.

As the first wave of Chelsea's attack began, the fans in the audience also sat down and followed the game carefully.

Chelsea's first wave of attack hit the Millwall penalty area, where Millwall's defence was solid, with the double trap of Simpson and Alan Hutton preventing Maniche's cross from finding its place on point, before Livermore restrained Frank Lampard, who failed to receive the pass in the first place, and the ball was kicked back to goalkeeper Hislop by Darren Ward, and Chelsea's offensive came to an end.

Chelsea don't care too much.

The game had just begun, and the chances of scoring in the first wave were too slim, and Maniche was only annoyed that he should have passed the ball earlier, while the rest of the players quickly retreated to prepare for Millwall's attack.

Millwall's attack was fast.

Heathrop handed the ball to Darren Ward, Ward pushed it to Alan Hutton, and Hutton passed it to Livermore, when Livermore got the ball, the chances were not very good, and there was the opposing striker Drogba next to him, many people thought that Livermore would pass back, but Livermore kicked the ball forward.

The soccer ball flew halfway across the field and rushed to the right front.

Josh Simpson chased after him, but in the end he couldn't catch the ball, many fans at the scene sighed regretfully, as if for the loss of an offensive opportunity, and the reporters in the media gallery also sighed, "Livermore's technical level is too poor!" When you get the ball, why do you still drive forward? ”

"He should have the ball!"

"It's just started and Livermore is a little too anxious!"

'The atmosphere was not good for Millwall, probably a lot of the players were nervous. This is actually quite normal......"

“……”

Many media have given this attack a negative evaluation, thinking that Livermore let Millwall concede an offensive opportunity, and they must not know that the style of play in the game is all flamboyant and explained.

Attack, just be fast!

If you can't pass the ball quickly, go forward and make a big move, in short, don't keep the ball for long periods of time, and don't give Chelsea a chance to break the ball at the back.

That's going to be dangerous.

Livermore kicked the ball forward and his team-mates didn't catch it, and it took time for Chelsea to reorganise their attack, so Millwall was able to defend with ease.

It seems to be handing the ball to a teammate, but what if Bigfoot lets a teammate catch it?

That might be a different outcome.

Football is all about chances, and when you don't have chances, you have to defend well, that's the strategy against Chelsea.

With wave after wave of offensives, the game became more and more intense.

Both sides let go.

There didn't seem to be even time to test the front, and the situation formed a tense scramble, and it was obvious that Chelsea's defensive strategy against Millwall was to press tightly throughout the field.

When Millwall frontcourt players get the ball, there isn't much space at all, and they are immediately blocked.

For example, this time, Josh Simpson got the ball, and Makelele rushed over immediately.

Makelele is Chelsea's most relied on midfielder, and his role in defense is higher than that of Lampard, and the addition of Essien is also considered to be the 'successor to Makelele', so it can be seen that Makelele's importance is definitely one of the most outstanding defensive midfielders in the world at present.

Any player will be a little nervous against Makellele, and Josh Simpson is no exception, he wanted to break through with the ball himself, but after glancing at Makelele, he still made a steady choice to pass it to his teammates.

Jody Morris picked up and planned to make a one-two with Simpson.

Frank Lampard suddenly ran over and followed Morris, and the moment Simpson passed the ball, Lampard suddenly rushed forward and squeezed Morris to grab the ball.

Morris was a little unsteady and couldn't get the ball in the first place, and the ball rolled past the two of them, which was picked up by Crespo, who followed him, and Chelsea immediately launched a counter-attack.

Zhang Yang frowned.

From the analysis of the game, Chelsea's pressing is much tighter, otherwise there would not be so many defenses with the ball on the wing.

It's certainly Chelsea's style of play.

Chelsea are probably looking to use tight pressing to match Millwall with their ability and ability? Or is it the greatest limit to Millwall's players?

That's a good idea.

Full-court pressing, as simple as it says, is to initiate 'defense from the front court to the back court', so that players in all positions can grab the ball when they have the opportunity, but it is not easy to do, because it is very difficult to grab the ball in the front court, let alone grab the ball, even if it is a defensive threat, it takes a lot of hard running.

When full-court pressing becomes tight, it requires more movement from the whole team.

Running means exerting physical energy.

Chelsea are going to play a war of attrition, keep the whole team running, completely limit Millwall's attack, and they can attack at will.

Zhang Yang is also lamenting the pertinence of Chelsea's strategy.

This style of play is not very meaningful in the general team, because it does not necessarily have much effect on consuming physical energy to fight, but the frontcourt players retreat slowly, and the backcourt defense will be weaker.

But it's different with Millwall!

There is a huge gap between the strength of the squad between Millwall and Chelsea, and there is no way to 'one-on-one' with each other in most positions, and when every player gets the ball, it will be difficult to play to their strength or to play together.

Good thing Millwall is prepared!

Zhang Yang didn't think about what Chelsea would do, but he clearly knew where the team's weaknesses were, the gap in the squad was not easy to bridge, and the game against Chelsea had to 'cover up' the disadvantage, which was to reduce the amount of time a player spent on the ball.

When players spend less time on the ball, they will play less with the opponent and will 'cover up' some lineup weaknesses.

Of course, there are disadvantages.

Players spend less time on the ball and less attacking threat, but against Chelsea, the main focus is on defence, and the attacking threat is secondary, and the key is not to give the opposition a good chance.

Now the team is mainly defensive, but by no means without the ability to fight back.

If Chelsea press too hard, there will definitely be gaps in the backline, and the team's quick attacking strategy may be effective.

Just one chance!

Once!

Zhang Yang doesn't mind letting Mourinho know what real frontcourt efficiency is!