The FA Cup final was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The Millennium Stadium is the 75,000-seat National Stadium of Wales and is a UEFA five-star football stadium that has been used for rugby matches, and was scheduled for the FA Cup and League Cup finals to be played at Wembley Stadium during the renovation of Wembley Stadium.

Millwall and Liverpool arrived at the Millennium Stadium and were scheduled to warm up on the ground.

There were still four hours left before the race.

It wasn't a warm-up before the game, but an afternoon training session for both teams, with both teams entering the playing field and training separately at the halfway point.

This is an impromptu arrangement, because the game is played in the evening, and the two sides only play one game, so there is no need to train on the arranged small court.

Perhaps, it is also to reduce expenses.

If the two teams are provided with additional venues, it will involve the issue of venue rental, and the competition budget will be spent more, but in any case, the two teams that are about to play are still very interesting to use the same stadium for training, and the competition between the players is inevitable.

Although they are not on the same field, in the free training, the competition has already begun.

Liverpool's captain, Steven Gerrard, showed amazing free-kick opportunities, and he kept bombarding the goal to intimidate Millwall.

This trick doesn't seem to work.

Millwall soon returned the colours, Livermore was thirty metres away from the goal, bombarding one by one, and the muffled sound of football could be heard even on the Liverpool pitch.

A number of Liverpool players have also started talking about Livermore -

"That's David? He should be noted. ”

"Don't let him get up easily, it's too threatening!"

"He's so strong!"

"The news report is true, this guy is a long-range shooting machine!"

"He's no worse than Steven......"

After the vigorous shooting competition, the two sides began to compete in other events, such as players and players passing the ball to each other, everyone cheered up, passed the ball faster and faster, mistakes were inevitable, and some jokes were made.

Zhang Yang stood on the sidelines.

Next to him was Rafael Benitez, both of whom were watching training and it was interesting to stand side by side together.

Benitez had a serious expression, Zhang Yang was full of smiles, and when he saw Simpson kick the ball flying, which caused the court to laugh, he also said, "Everyone is very energetic, today's game will be very exciting!" ”

Benitez nodded in response, "yes." So Zhang, can you take the liberty of asking, how would you use a player like Livermore? I think he plays as a striker than at the back. ”

“……？”

This topic shifted a little quickly, and Zhang Yang didn't react for a while, so he had to mutter, "Maybe, yes, maybe you can try." He found that he couldn't talk to Benitez more, or he would find that his brain circuits were really not enough.

The atmosphere of the two managers was a little awkward, and the arrival of the FA official group eased the embarrassment, and Jove Thompson took the initiative to come over and congratulate Millwall on winning the league championship, "The day Millwall won the championship, yes, you should understand, there was some surprise, I originally wanted to present the award in person." ”

"Of course. Thank you. ”

"Today I'm going to present the winner." Jove Thompson said with Zhang Yang and Benitez, "I'm looking forward to it, it will be very lively, and I believe the game will be exciting!" ”

Then it becomes small talk.

Jove Thompson asked Zhang Yang about Millwall's transfer, and he was mainly concerned about how much money Millwall had prepared and to what extent it would replenish its strength.

It may seem that it has nothing to do with the FA, but in reality, the FA is always responsible for the commercialisation of the English league, and they need to know each team well, and it is better to be able to judge the possible future results of a team.

For example, creating a schedule for the new season.

Knowing each team's likely results can be used to create a schedule that puts key matches at key points in time to attract more fans.

There's nothing hidden in that.

Zhang Yang whispered a few words to Joff Thompson. There are not many opportunities like this, and it is very good for the FA to know that Millwall are competitive, and it may be more human in the schedule, such as not meeting strong teams in consecutive rounds and only playing against weak teams in many rounds in a row, as this season has been.

That's not a good schedule.

Playing easy games in a row will make the team forget the feeling of playing against a strong team; Playing against strong teams in a row can make the team too nervous and tired.

After Jove Thompson left, Zhang Yang saw that the time was almost up, so he returned to the locker room first, and about half an hour later, the players also returned in turn, they had to go to dinner collectively, and then rest for a while, adjust their bodies to the best condition, and prepare for the game.

At half past seven in the evening, the two teams officially began to warm up.

With less than half an hour to go before the game, Zhang Yang and Wilkinson went to the mixed zone for an interview, and then Zhang Yang and the press officer went to a press conference.

The interviews at the press conference were more formal.

The media got the starting line-ups for both teams early on, and they could also ask questions about it.

Liverpool's starting line-up is a regular line-up, almost as the media speculated.

Millwall is a little different.

Millwall midfield, there are three players starting, namely Jody Morris, Elliott and Livermore, the media focus is on Elliott, who was still a semi-main player before, but in the late stage of the league, with Smitchell's excellent performance, Millwall's lineup tactics have been slightly adjusted, Elliott has fewer opportunities to play, and has gradually become a substitute.

The media was concerned that Smitchell did not start, and Zhang Yang's answer to this was, "There is nothing wrong with Vladimir's body, it's just a normal adjustment, and I don't think I have any reason to answer questions about the starting lineup." ”

Zhang Yang means, "I don't need to dictate who I send to start." ”

Journalists also found themselves too lenient.

Elliott is also a good player, very defensive, Millwall has a starting line-up, there is no problem, it's just that they care too much about Smitchell.

In fact, Smitchell was the focus of attention.

Smitchell is a former Liverpool player, when Millwall played Liverpool for the first time, Smitchell also performed quite well and became the best player of the game, many people want to come, and against Liverpool, Smitchell will definitely play.

The coaching staff also considered this, but in the end Zhang Yang decided to start Elliott to strengthen the midfield and the defense at the back.

Smitchell is good, but he is the same type of player as Jody Morris, the two play together, and it is not a problem to work together, and the lineup of the key team is too offensive.

The tactical point of this game is to open the situation from the wing, and it is enough to be organized in the middle, and there is no need to be too strong, so Zhang Yang chose to let Jody Morris play, and Smitchell could only sit on the bench.

After the press conference, Zhang Yang returned to the locker room to make the final mobilization for the team.

After that, it was about the same time and the players were ready to play.

————

Millennium Stadium.

At 8 o'clock in the evening local time, the FA Cup final, Millwall vs. Liverpool officially started, the number of fans on the scene exceeded 70,000, according to statistics, nearly 10 million English fans watched the live broadcast of the game, and the overseas data was more than three times, which may depend on the contribution of Chinese fans, even if affected by the time difference, the number of Chinese fans also determines that the number of viewers will not be small, and many fans stay up late to watch the game.

At the beginning of the game, the commentator compares the starting lineup.

At the beginning of the season, Millwall's squad was seen as 'dismal', and it was not comparable to Wigan Athletic and Sunderland, who were also promoted horses.

Now it's different.

After a season, Millwall's players have made a name for themselves, especially Darren Bent on the front line, who is considered to be the top combination of Liverpool's West Jersey and Morientes, and the latter two together are not as efficient as Darren Bent.

In the middle of the midfield, Millwall is a little worse, Gerrard plus Alonso is considered a very good partner, Livermore, Morris and Elliott are also good, but the technical is relatively much worse, and only the defense is more prominent.

Liverpool's back line is stronger, with Carragher, Hyypia, Reeser and Finnan being much more well-known than Millwall's defenders, and their performances are more consistent.

Millwall's advantage is still on the wings, Braniff and Josh Simpson, both are considered quite aggressive players, both can play forward, offensive ability is stronger than defensive ability, in contrast, Louis Garcia, who has always been disliked by the British media, plus Cendon, who is not famous for how to play, the only thing that can be talked about is experience.

Many fans are still discussing that Smitchell did not play, which is a pity for Liverpool fans, Millwall fans don't feel anything, Smitchell is not special in Millwall.

After the game officially began, it was obvious to fans that both teams were very concerned about their defense.

Liverpool are very defensive-minded.

Zhang Yang has been thinking about how to break through the Liverpool defence, but Millwall also pays attention to defense, a decisive game, the defense wins is not to say, he just hopes to decide the winner in 90 minutes, not to drag the time to extra-time, that will make the players physically and mentally exhausted, maybe something unexpected will happen.

In the first ten minutes of the game, both sides played very conservatively, and the commentator made statistics, "So far, the possession data of the two sides is very close, and no one has taken advantage of the struggle, Liverpool has a shot on goal, it is Gerrard's long-range shot, which failed to threaten the goal, and Millwall has not yet shot ......"

"Judging from the situation of the game, it seems that the two sides have not yet entered the state, but it is obvious that both sides are playing more targeted in attack."

The commentator was talking about 'both sides', and it was only Millwall who actually showed an attacking threat.

Millwall haven't shot yet, but the pertinence of the attack has been played, and the previous two successive waves of attacks were launched from the wings, and the football was also passed to the middle, but it was successfully cleared by Liverpool.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has noticed this and knows Millwall are trying to find opportunities from the wings.

This is not unexpected.

Many teams that play against Liverpool, in order to break through Liverpool's defense, will look for opportunities on the wing, among which Chelsea is representative.

Chelsea's wide flanks are very strong, Arjen Robben, Duff, Joe Cole, each player is quite good, with strong breakthrough ability, speed, good technique, and so on, the technical characteristics of the wide players can be pressed on their heads.

So what?

It is also very difficult for Chelsea to attack and break down the Liverpool defence, just like in the FA Cup semi-final, Chelsea attacked the whole game and failed to find the back of the net.

It's not easy for Millwall to score!

Rafa Benitez is still confident in his team's defence, and he thinks about how the team can play a counter-attack and actively seek the opening goal.

In terms of game preparation, Liverpool are inferior to Millwall, but Benitez knows how to play against Millwall, and Millwall's shortcomings are obvious - the lack of ability of the defenders.

This disadvantage will make it easier for opposing players to rely on their individual ability to find opportunities.

Therefore, Benitez told the frontcourt players that they can take the ball forward when they have the opportunity, and 'single' is occasionally a good choice, especially Gerrard, Alonso, and the striker Morientes, who are all players with excellent skills, and if they can play, it is not difficult to complete the goal.

The next game between the two sides was a bit stalemate.

Liverpool and Millwall were both tough, with the main focus being in midfield, where the two sides fought fiercely for control of the midfield.

Josh Simpson on the wing was also outstanding when Millwall were on the attack, delivering three passes to the edge of the box in the space of 10 minutes from the 15th to the 25th.

Although all three kicks were destroyed, it cannot be denied that Simpson played well.

Liverpool didn't care.

Millwall's successive crosses were almost a waste of chance, as they defended so tightly on the edge of the box that it was difficult for the opposition to rely on wide crosses to find opportunities.

Benitez also saw it that way, and he even began to think about asking the team to strengthen some attacks, because the opposing manager, that is, Zhang Yang, seemed to have made a tactical mistake.

Most of Millwall's attacks were launched from the flanks.

Liverpool are too well restricted.

Such a continuous offensive wants to threaten the Liverpool goal, which is a little more difficult, and Liverpool can take advantage of the time to strengthen the attack and take the initiative to seek a chance to score.

Zhang Yang was also watching the game.

Millwall's attacks on the flanks seemed to be a waste of time, but Zhang Yang did not stop it, because like a player, he was also looking for 'opportunities'.

Benitez thinks Millwall's tactics are wrong, but he would never have imagined that Zhang Yang's tactics are based on 'supernatural abilities'.

Just one chance, using 'the talk' or 'lucky bonus', might lead straight to the goal.

"Opportunities, it doesn't matter if you waste countless times, only one can be enough."

That's what Zhang Yang thinks.