Millwall dugout.

Zhang Yang was also quite satisfied with Livermore's performance, and he also talked to Wise, "David's play is not bad. ”

"yes, he's growing fast!" Wise Road.

This sentence is not a big deal for a young player, but it is somewhat strange to put it on Livermore who is in his prime.

Zhang Yang nodded very seriously, "He has improved the most!" ”

Zhang Yang is not surprised.

In the Millwall team, most of the players are still in the original team, most of them have no experience in the top league, this season in the Premier League, many players in the team have grown, such as Braniff, Josh Simpson, and then include Jody Morris, Darren Ward, they were only Championship level players before, and they have participated in Premier League events in a row, and they have performed well in a row, so they will naturally improve considerably, but in the whole team, the fastest growing is Livermore.

Before Livermore, he only had the ability to shoot from a distance.

This so-called 'long-range shot' is still the effect of 'verbal demagogy', otherwise Livermore can be said to be 'useless', but it is undeniable that Livermore has the potential to become a world-class star because his body is very strong.

Don't underestimate this!

There are many players with excellent skills, but there are very few players who are 'exceptionally strong'.

It's not something you can get an exercise out of the day.

Maybe someone can become very strong through exercise, but that generally appears in the field of fitness, is vain and strong, not really strong, through normal exercise, the growth of the body has a limit, the average professional player, start exercising early, to reach the limit of the person in his early twenties, no matter how to exercise in the future, it will not improve much, and even decrease with age.

Livermore ...... It's born!

He is no longer ordinarily strong, but very, very strong, he is an Englishman, but he probably has the blood of a polar bear, even the Nordic man, the African strong man, it is difficult to compare with him, a player with high physical strength and strength, as long as he has the level of 'equivalent to an ordinary English super player', he is enough to become a world-class star.

Here's an example.

C-Ronaldo's excellent passers-by are well known, and many people's impression of C-Ronaldo is that he has outstanding skills and all-round ability, but C-Ronaldo's most outstanding ability is extremely explosive, when he dribbles the ball on the field, he can often leave the opponent behind with an outburst.

That's not just technology.

Football is a combination of technique and body, only technique without body, it is difficult to really become a top star, and vice versa, if you want to become a top star, you must have one aspect and the body must be extremely prominent, and on the other hand, you must also reach an average level.

Livermore has the foundation of the body, as long as the technology and coordination ability are slightly improved, the overall improvement will be very huge, round after round of league experience, so that Livermore's technology and coordination ability will improve rapidly, and personal ability and performance will naturally have a huge improvement.

Led by Livermore's excellent performance, Millwall's defence was solid, failing to give Arsenal a chance for the first twenty minutes.

As the game continued to unfold, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's face became more solemn.

The game situation is the same as imagined, Arsenal is in control of the situation, even in control of the midfield, and the football is at the feet of the Arsenal players most of the time, but the performance of the other side is a little different, Millwall did not fight hard with Arsenal, but has been focusing on defense, the formation is very tight, coupled with the excellent performance of the players, it is difficult for Arsenal to break the defense.

Arsenal also find it difficult to play in attack.

Millwall's defence starts from behind the halfway line, from Livermore, Smitchell, Darren Ward, Wes Morgan, the ball is constantly rolling ten meters outside the Millwall penalty area, no matter how you pass and receive the ball, it is difficult to break forward.

Millwall, meanwhile, was sharp in his counter-attack.

Whenever Millwall got the ball, Arsenal had to retreat quickly, Millwall's counter-attack was too fast, and once it took six seconds to pass into their own box, but fortunately, the central defender Campbell cleared the ball in time, otherwise the opponent could get a one-on-one chance.

Football was at the feet of Arsenal for most of the time, and Arsenal also achieved on-field suppression, but after a while, Arsenal seemed to feel a little suppressed, because Millwall got more chances.

This kind of game scene made Wenger frown, but also made Zhang Yang's face smile.

His setup has worked!

In this game, Millwall still uses the 4231 formation, the two backs ensure the defensive intensity, the central midfielder Smitchell leads the attack, the difference is that the formation is compressed backwards, and the front court leaves enough space for Darren Bent, the fundamental style of play is to defend and counterattack, mainly emphasizing defense, but there is only one word for offense and counterattack - fast.

Martial arts in the world, only fast is not broken!

The same is true of football games, but fast is also efficient, like a bullet, no matter how powerful and fast, it is meaningless to hit people, Darren Bent has the support of several teammates in the midfield, which ensures the efficiency of the counterattack, and the other players are focused on defense.

That's the way it plays against Arsenal.

A week before the game, Zhang Yang carefully watched many videos of Arsenal's 'losing' games, and found that this kind of play against Arsenal was the most effective.

Arsenal's attacking speed is also very fast and dazzling, but when it comes to scoring goals, they are actually not as good as Chelsea and Manchester United, because they don't have the kind of players who can score goals on their own.

There used to be one - Vieira, but unfortunately Vieira left Arsenal.

Now, there is none.

Even Thierry Henry is a lot worse in this regard, he is a very good goalscorer, but he is not the kind of player who can score goals in a one-to-many, he needs the support of the midfield to have a chance to make a goal.

This is a flaw in Arsenal's squad, and the worst thing they are at is breaking down dense defences.

Millwall responded to Arsenal's attack with a dense defensive approach, and then threatened the Arsenal defence with a fast attack.

Now the effect is out.

Millwall seemed to be passive on the pitch, but they got more chances in front of goal than Arsenal.

Arsenal's mentality is also a bit shaky.

The last time the two teams met, Millwall won, but the winning process was not very easy, the Arsenal players' impression of Millwall, still stayed in that game, they admitted that Millwall's efficiency is good, and the strength of some players is also good, but they definitely didn't expect that in Highbury Stadium, Millwall can still perform well, and play something a little different from the last time.

This creates a psychological gap.

This psychological gap also made the Arsenal players a little overwhelmed, and they didn't know what to do when faced with Millwall's fast attack.

Is it a formation retracement?

Or continue to go on the offensive?

When the game gets to this point, Vieira's importance is revealed, and last season, Arsenal would never have been like that, because all the players will be under the command of Vieira, who is the captain of the team and the absolute heart of the pitch, and his leadership role is difficult to replace.

Without Patrick Vieira, Arsenal's morale is a bit chaotic.

Henry's prestige is not small, but he is only a striker, and it is difficult for a striker to be the captain and even more difficult to command on the field.

Cesc Fabregas was the player who replaced Patrick Vieira.

This is even known to the outside media, Wenger just wants Fabregas to replace Vieira, and has been focusing on cultivating him, Fabregas's ability is good, and his performance is quite good among his peers, but his prestige is not enough, and his performance is not so outstanding compared to the old players.

Fabregas is still too immature!

It was also a good opportunity for Millwall, and in the 29th minute of the game, Millwall played a wave of smooth and fast attack, led by Smitchell, and the left side of the middle made six consecutive passes, and the fast pass caught Arsenal off guard.

"Millwall's fast break!"

"Look at this wave!"

"It's gorgeous!"

"Dangerous ——!"

Amid shouts, the football was handed to Braniff's feet.

Arsenal were caught off guard.

Campbell was defending Darren Bent, Toure was marking Smitchell, and the rest of the defenders didn't have time to defend.

Braniff bursts into the box with the ball!

In the face of goalkeeper Lehmann, Braniff calmly chose to shoot, the ball went straight to the top right corner of the goal, Lehmann made the right save, but the ball still flew in front of his fingers.

The ball is in!

“Goooooooooooooooooal！！！”

"Kevin Braniff!"

"Braniff helps Millwall break the deadlock first! 0 to 1! Millwall lead home team Arsenal away! ”

As the commentator shouted, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had a wry smile on his face.

The situation at Arsenal was a little unfavorable, and Millwall's continuous counter-attacks continued to threaten the Arsenal goal, but he did not expect that the goal would come so quickly.

Zhang Yang is not surprised.

After Braniff's goal, he just clapped and celebrated, not too happy.

According to the trajectory of the game, Braniff could not have scored a goal, but with 'follow the word', the situation was different, and the original trajectory was changed in that moment.

Braniff was at his best, with a shot that hit hard and out of angle, and goalkeeper Lehmann couldn't have saved it, no matter how good he was.

————

The next game was not good for Arsenal.

In football, the first team to score a goal has too much psychological advantage, especially Millwall's focus is on defense, and the players on the field will think, "We have a goal advantage, as long as we defend well, we can win." ”

The Arsenal players were the opposite, "We have to get the score back!" ”

Millwall players have a calm mentality, Arsenal players have an anxious mentality, but in a hurry to do something, often can't do anything, Arsenal haven't been able to score the goal before, and then their performance is obviously anxious, and it becomes more difficult to score.

Wenger is aware of the situation, but there is no way to change, because in the case of falling behind, it is necessary to equalize quickly, so that there will be a comeback, and he also hopes that Arsenal can seize the opportunity to equalize quickly, but reason made him choose to go to the sidelines and make a posture of pressing down with both hands to remind the players on the field, "Steady!" ”

Under Arsene Wenger's command, the Arsenal players realized the problem and played a little more 'steady', constantly controlling the ball while also taking care of the defense at the back, and did not give Millwall another chance.

Neither team was able to score again in the first half.

When the game entered the second half, Arsenal were eager to equalize, and as soon as the formation was overwhelmed by the half, almost surrounding Millwall, bombarding the penalty area.

The Millwall goal has also become dangerous.

Zhang Yang also got busy.

As the saying goes, 'one must make a mistake in a hundred guards', Millwall's defense is not so tough, Arsenal's attacking threat is very big, and it is very difficult to defend.

In the 67th minute, Zhang Yang predicted a goal.

It was a pass from Pire, who was turned and volleyed by Henry, and the ball hung into the top left corner of the goal.

Zhang Yang will definitely prevent the goal from happening, he told his players to hold Henry's point to the death, and in addition, he also told the players on the right side not to let Pire easily get up and pass the ball.

This confession worked.

When Pire got up, Josh Simpson was worried that he would not be able to complete the coach's explanation, and even used a foul to prevent Pire's cross, for which he received a yellow card, for which Pire failed to pass the ball.

Seeing Arsenal restart the offensive on the side, Zhang Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

The game was different from the 'foreseen' situation, and it was not so easy for Arsenal to score again, and at the same time, Zhang Yang also sighed about the game.

Arsenal is at home, it can be said that it occupies the 'time, place, and people', Millwall's tactical response is not bad, but a goal is based on 'following the word', and guarding the goal also relies on 'foreknowledge', if the opponent gets another chance, 'foreknowledge' may not be effective, and he has no effective means.

Without the help of supernatural abilities, Arsenal would have taken the lead.

The gap between the two sides is too obvious.

It's really hard to win this kind of game from start to finish.

The second half of the schedule has only just begun, the last dozen rounds are the final stage of the sprint, every game, every point is extremely important, if you want to win the final championship, you must get more points.

How can I get more points?

Fighting one game at a time, there is not much chance of getting the highest points, the strength of the team is here, even if it has supernatural ability, it is impossible to help the team win all the time.

So is it appropriate to give up some games?

Zhang Yang pondered.

Time passed quickly in the thinking, and in the blink of an eye, Millwall did not score again, Arsenal failed to recover the score, and in the last three minutes, Arsenal gave up the defense, and all three lines entered the front, and they surrounded the Millwall goal and launched a desperate bombardment.

Millwall's goal is in a series of crises!

But crisis doesn't mean goal, and Arsenal weren't so lucky, as they hit the post with a shot but couldn't get past Hislop.

0 to 1!

Millwall won away at Arsenal to take three points from 26 rounds of the Premier League and remain at the top of the Premier League table.

"Double Arsenal! Six wins in a row in the New Year! A number of media outlets reported on Millwall's victory.