"Smitchell! Smitchell! ”

The Anfield Stadium radio kept shouting Smitchell's name, "Smitchell scored the first goal of the game, and this is the first time he has returned to Anfield since he left, but as an opponent. His goal already belongs to Millwall......"

Liverpool fans are saddened that Millwall was scored, and it was Smitchell who helped the team win the Champions League.

Sky Sports commentator Kyle Bullard was less emotional, commenting on the goal in a neutral manner, "Fans and friends! This is the tenth round of the Premier League, Liverpool hosts Millwall! It's 1-0 now, just now against his old club Smitchell, helping Millwall to complete the goal! ”

"It was just a pass from Darren Bent. Smitchell and Darren Bent did a wonderful combination, the two were in the Liverpool penalty area, passing smoothly, Darren Bent sent a pass in front of the goal, so that the Liverpool defense was broken in an instant. ”

"Millwall is ahead!"

"It was also a credit to Darren Bent who played a clever pass, but in the previous games, we could see that Smitchell was the best player!"

"Smitchell is over 32 years old, in the summer, he failed to get a contract extension from Liverpool, he had to choose to leave, Millwall signed him, from the goal just now, we can think that Millwall's choice is not wrong, Smitchell's performance is very good! That may have been heart-wrenching for Liverpool fans, because Smitchell was originally a player who belonged to Liverpool......"

Kyle Bullard keeps complimenting Smitchell.

Smitchell deserves continuous praise, because his performance is indeed very good, of the 22 players on the field, he is undoubtedly the best one, even Liverpool's 'soul' Gerrard is not comparable, in fact, Gerrard has not had any decent performance since the start of the game.

Zhang Yang was very satisfied with Smitchell's performance.

In fact, Zhang Yang didn't expect Smitchell to perform so well, Smitchell is the core player in the frontfield, but against Liverpool, Smitchell's lack of explosiveness is a big problem, his organizational and offensive ability is also average, and his abilities are relatively average, there is nothing special, to say that only he has a lot of experience and can have such an excellent performance, probably thanks to the 'against the old club', and the opponent he meets is more familiar?

Also, Smitchell won't be affected by the atmosphere at Anfield?

When Zhang Yang was thinking, Benitez was also thinking.

At the moment when Smitchell scored a goal, Benitez suddenly had a regretful thought, "I knew I should have renewed my contract with Smitchell!" ”

Liverpool have the idea of keeping Smitchell in the summer, but only if Smitchell accepts a pay cut.

In the end, the two sides did not come to an agreement.

In fact, Liverpool has no choice, Smitchell continues to stay in the team, and he can only play as a substitute, with Xavi Alonso's excellent performance, coupled with the outbreak of some young players in the front, it is difficult for Smitchell to have a position.

Paying a high salary to a substitute is unacceptable to Liverpool FC.

Millwall has financial problems, Liverpool also has, although they are a giant club, the value is much higher than Millwall, but the high value of the club does not mean how good the finances are, for example, in terms of player salaries, the average salary of Millwall players is only 14,000 pounds per week, which is still constantly renewing contracts with players, plus the signing of high-tech players such as Darren Bent and Smitchell, Liverpool's player salary is more than three times that of Millwall, such as Gerrard gets a weekly salary of more than 90,000 pounds, Several backfield veterans: Hyypia, Carragher, Finnan and others, are also high-paid players, players with outstanding performance in the frontcourt, the weekly salary is about 50,000 pounds, such a high salary expenditure, but also represents a huge financial burden, such a player like Smitchell, if you want to stay in the team can only play as a substitute, then you can only choose to reduce the salary and renew.

Benitez's mind only lingered for a moment of 'regret', and then he felt that Smitchell's departure was actually very good for him, because Smitchell could not have performed so well at Liverpool, and it was not even easy to get a chance to play.

It was a necessary sacrifice in Liverpool's 'blood exchange' process.

Veterans who are about to reach their age, even if their strength level is good, they must reduce their chances of playing, and some young players with less experience must also play frequently, so that they can grow quickly.

However, Benitez was still surprised by Smitchell's performance, he knew that Smitchell should not have performed so well even if he stayed at Liverpool to play as a main team.

Why?

"Is it tactical?" There was a reason why Benitez was overtures to the show before the game.

The outside world praised Benitez's tactical ability, with Liverpool's strength to win the Champions League, not to mention the miracle created in the last game, in the promotion process, Liverpool can go all the way to the wonderful, which is enough to prove that Benitez led the team excellently.

Benitez also has a private penchant for tactics, and when the media kept reporting on Millwall, he took a closer look at Millwall's style of play and was amazed that he couldn't read it.

Yes!

Benitez found that he couldn't understand Millwall's tactical play, he analyzed tactics by normal means, and couldn't draw any conclusions, Millwall's performance was completely unreasonable.

But...... No way!

So Benitez also believed the analysis conclusion of many people: Millwall's tactics were developed in a hurry for Millwall's lineup, and there was not any routine in it.

This tactic, created specifically for Millwall, cannot be viewed in a normal light.

Now Smitchell's performance can be attributed to the tactical conclusion.

The young manager, who has developed tactics for the team, has been included in the team, and he has been able to play freely and will definitely perform very well.

Benitston was amazed because he couldn't develop tactics specifically for Liverpool.

"You probably need to know each player very well, right?" Benitez is a little unimaginable, and he is even more looking forward to communicating with Zhang Yang about academic issues about football tactics.

————

After Mitchell's goal, the score was rewritten accordingly, and the situation between the two teams was different.

However, neither team adjusted their tactics.

It wasn't long before the game began, and Liverpool stepped up slightly in the hope of equalising as soon as possible, while Millwall continued to maintain a relatively balanced attack and defence.

The battle between the two teams in the midfield was fierce, and the two sides constantly fought for the initiative in the midfield.

As the game became more intense, the shouts of the fans also increased, and the cheers of Liverpool were everywhere, and Zhang Yang listened to it with some distress, and he believed that the players were also affected.

This was indeed the case in the competition.

Millwall has too many young players, even some of the veterans, who have only played in the Premier League in their first season, have never experienced such a difficult away game, the sound in their ears has affected their performance, many people want to stay calm, but the voice always reminds them that they are away, there are more than 50,000 fans watching them, some players still feel very nervous, and some players who can stay calm, in such an environment, the performance has been greatly affected.

Liverpool is the opposite.

The Liverpool players had long since adapted to the atmosphere, and with the cheers of the home fans, they were getting better and better, and soon Liverpool took advantage of the opportunity to suppress Millwall.

Anyone knows that the game is a tough one, and some media commentators have repeatedly highlighted Millwall's passivity when analysing the game.

Zhang Yang didn't give any command of the game, he seemed to go back to last season, when he first took over the team, he didn't understand anything at that time, he just kept using 'foreknowledge' to judge the game, as long as the opponent didn't score, he thought it was safe.

The game is like that, Zhang Yang also has his own ideas: like this, Millwall have to go through a lot of games, now they have to work hard to get through, as long as they can get through, the team will improve, and in a similar situation, the performance will be more stable.

Happily, Millwall persevered.

Liverpool had two good chances in the first half, but Cisse and Steven Gerrard couldn't get on the scoresheet and when the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half, the scoreboard was still 1-0.

Zhang Yang stood up from his seat.

He smiled.

This time it wasn't about taking the lead or playing a tactical role, but I was really happy that the team was able to hold on, and in other words, it was Benitez who felt the struggle.

From the twentieth minute to the end of the first half, Millwall played very passively, and for a while, he didn't even play a decent counterattack, but Liverpool didn't score in the end.

So in the second half, can Liverpool still be able to score?

Benitez wasn't sure, but he knew the best of times were over and Liverpool were going to be out of play in the second half.

Millwall went into the break with a lead.

From the first half of the game, it is easy to see that Liverpool's forward ability is insufficient, Pongele's experience is too poor, the mentality in the game is also unstable, and the individual ability is also a little lacking, and it is difficult to score when you find opportunities; Crouch was relatively better, but as a well-known and powerful centre-forward, he was also very well defended by Millwall, and he touched the ball too few times to even have a chance to shoot.

Liverpool still have more chances in midfield.

Gerrard had two shots, one from distance that flew over the crossbar and the other from inside the box that almost threatened Millwall, but it bounced off Heathlop's arm.

This is the biggest threat Liverpool has made.

Zhang Yang reviewed the first half of the game in his mind, and also knew how to play in the second half, "We have to shrink the defense line and compress the formation appropriately!" Retreat more defensively! ”

At halftime, Zhang Yang constantly emphasized a conservative style of play.

This is a 'utilitarian mentality' strategy.

At the beginning of the first half, Liverpool was a little uncomfortable with Millwall's style of play, coupled with Smitchell's excellent performance, they did have a period of passivity, but after a little adaptation, Liverpool's strength was shown.

Although there is a gap between Liverpool and Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and other teams, the overall strength is definitely stronger than Millwall, coupled with Anfield's home advantage, it is still difficult to beat Liverpool head-on, and if the game continues like this, Liverpool can easily score goals.

So Zhang Yang decided to adopt a 'conservative strategy'.

This was also thought out before the game.

At the beginning of the second half, Zhang Yang replaced Darren Bent and Josh Simpson with Joey Healy and Rudy Clark, two attacking wing-backs came off and two defensive full-backs came on, and it was obvious what Millwall was going to do. Please Baidu "Throw Book Network" Thank you for your support!