Chapter 223 Process is not representative of result
Aston Villa is a football club based in the city of Birmingham in the heart of England, and they are one of the oldest clubs in England, having been established back in 1874.
In its early years, Aston Villa won seven top-flight titles and seven FA Cups.
Since the inception of the Premier League, Aston Villa's results have declined, but they have been able to consistently top the league and are one of the powerhouses in England's top flight.
Last season, Aston Villa finished 10th in the league.
This may be an indication of the current strength of Aston Villa - a team that is worried about relegation, but it is difficult to achieve more. In the summer transfer market, head coach O'Reilly did not have any eye-catching gains, with Kevin Phillips and Borg, Vassell and Hitzelsperger, and the overall strength of the team has not changed much.
Millwall is fearless of Aston Villa.
With the increase of the new tactics, Millwall has been able to play the same strength as Aston Villa, in addition, he also has several supernatural abilities, plus it is a home game, and the chance of defeating the opponent is still very good.
So Zhang Yang used the game to familiarize the team with the new formation.
Millwall's starting line-up surprised a lot of people when both teams came out on the pitch - Marvin Elliott got the start and there was only one player up front.
Millwall has changed formation!
This is unexpected by many people, Marvin Elliott is one of the controversial points, the first three games, Elliott did not play, he was last season's 'hero' player, but that's all, the hero of the Championship promotion, it is difficult to get a chance in the Premier League, it is a common thing, but what I didn't expect is that Elliott started in the fourth round.
Could it be that Millwall had an injured player who had to let Elliott play?
But a glance at the Millwall bench showed that everyone dismissed the idea because Braniff and Smitchell were on the bench and they showed no signs of injury.
Why did Elliott start?
Is it a normal rotation?
Aston Villa is not a weak team, playing against them and letting the 'rotation players' play, does Millwall look down on the opponent?
A lot of people don't understand.
Millwall's formation adjustment has left many people incomprehensible, and they don't think Elliott has the quality to start in a Premier League-level competition.
'That could be the key to Millwall's loss!' Some media immediately made a 'verdict'.
Marvin Elliott?
A Championship level player, what's the point of him playing? There was talent in Millwall's squad, but it might have been Braniff or Josh Simpson, but it certainly wasn't Elliott.
In addition, what is puzzling is that Millwall's starting striker is Darren Bent, not the 'proclaimed' Branifer, who has been doing well, and if there is only one starting striker, Braniv should be played.
The ensuing matches seemed to prove it.
When the game started, Aston Villa somewhat suppressed Millwall, even though they were away, they were quite strong, and Millwall did not play as strong as in the previous games, and played a little passively at home.
"That's so conservative!"
Many 'football commentators' shook their heads unconsciously, and just by watching the game, they knew that Millwall sent a double midfielder to increase the defence, and the attack had to be sacrificed.
Why are they fighting like this?
Is it just to get a point and keep the draw?
"Maybe that's it." A football analyst said, "Millwall was originally a relegation team, but we think highly of them, a team with the goal of relegation, can get a point under Aston Villa, in fact, it is completely acceptable." ”
They certainly didn't think that Zhang Yang was just experimenting with a new formation.
Aston Villa are not too strong, not too weak, and playing at home, just the right touchstone for a new formation, if you want the team to adapt to a set of tactics, the regular game is the best place, as long as one game, everyone will get used to the new formation, it is better than a few days of training.
Although there are some risks in this, such as Millwall may lose games, Zhang Yang doesn't care too much, there are 38 games in a season, and if you lose one, you lose one.
If we can get the team to adapt to the tactics in one game, it will be too helpful for the future.
Zhang Yang doesn't think the team will lose, but he has several abilities that affect the game, such as 'foresight', 'walking the talk' and 'lucky bonus', plus Livermore's long-range shot and Simpson's free kick, Millwall can score as long as he has the opportunity.
The outside world didn't know Zhang Yang's thoughts, when they saw Millwall falling behind, they immediately began to criticize Millwall's conservative tactics, but they couldn't say anything, just sarcastically Millwall's 'not wanting to forge ahead', "Millwall changed the formation, but there is still no tactics to speak of, their style of play is also very conservative, four defenders, two backs, if you don't know, you think they have met a giant, but in fact, they are only at home against Aston Villa......"
The media was puzzled as to why Millwall was doing this.
The end result was surprising.
Millwall were passive throughout the game, with just 41 per cent possession and the second-highest number of shots on goal in the game, but they relied on two goals to win against Aston Villa.
The game was difficult, and until the 75th minute, the score was still 0-0.
In the 76th minute, the time for change came.
Millwall were given set-pieces 24 metres from goal, which was arguably a very good position, but most people were not favoured to score because Millwall did not play a good free-kick.
Josh Simpson shut up most people when he struck a delicate arc and hoisted the ball straight into the corner, leaving Aston Villa goalkeeper Sorens helpless to watch the ball fly in.
It was the first goal.
Aston Villa then went on a big attack, but it was Millwall who scored, and it was a counter-attack in the 84th minute when Darren Bent broke through opposition defender Melberg and calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net against the onrushing Sorens.
2 to 0!
This is also the end result.
Millwall won the fourth round of the league, and after the game, many media were surprised, they kept talking about Millwall's tactical problems, talking about Millwall's passive style of play, and criticizing Millwall's coach, but Millwall's results were very good.
Four rounds, three wins and one draw!
They are unbeaten in four games of the new season, third in the league with 10 points, behind Chelsea and Charlton Athletic, who have won all four games, and have kept United at the bottom on goal difference.
This is definitely not a result that Millwall fans dare to imagine.
Millwall fans have a similar opinion to others, they do support Millwall, but Millwall's squad is there, it is indeed one of the worst teams in the Premier League, and even 'one' can be removed, in their opinion, Millwall can be relegated, and there is no need to talk about playing well.
The results are unexpected.
At the end of the game, every Millwall fan was very happy.
Although the media always criticizes 'Millwall's tactics' and 'criticizes Millwall's coaching staff', they don't understand the esoteric tactical issues, but Millwall's win is a fact.
There were four rounds of the new season and we were in third place!
It's the Premier League!
Now it can be regarded as the best result in Millwall's 100-year history, and standing at new heights that have never been reached before.
Even if this ranking can't be maintained for long, Millwall is satisfied.
At least they used to have!
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The British media, in stark contrast to Millwall fans, should be said to be 'most of the British media'.
After the fourth round of the Premier League, many media outlets came out again and criticized Millwall's backward style of play, "Millwall has no tactics at all, they played well because of the player's improvised performance." ”
'Luck was also indispensable, Villa pressed the whole game and allowed Millwall to score two goals.
"Josh Simpson is a genius, his free-kicks are beautiful, it's a shame he plays for Millwall......"
"Braniff was good, but he didn't even get a chance to play!"
"Darren Bent? Maybe he scored a lot of goals, but compared to Braniff! ”
“……”
If you just look at the media reports, it's like Millwall has lost four games in a row, but the reality is that Millwall has played quite well, and the situation becomes a little strange.
Many media outlets are also very puzzled.
Why did Millwall perform so well? What they saw was that Millwall's tactics were useless, but every player was very good in the game, and the latter was the key to Millwall's victory.
But it was like this for four games in a row, and they also felt that something was wrong.
If you are to judge Millwall, you can only praise their players, and in terms of overall play, there is nothing to talk about.
Millwall's win in this round was also a surprise.
Throughout the game, Aston Villa maintained the pressure of the situation, and the number of shots on goal, the number of offensive threats, the possession rate and other statistics were all dominant, but in the end they lost the game.
Aston Villa boss O'Reilly also said indignantly, "It's unfair to lose, the result doesn't represent the process. ”
'We had more possession, more shots, more passes and more corners than them...... All other offensive statistics are better than theirs. But in the end, we lost! Maybe it's a professional league, and the process doesn't represent the result, and unfortunately, we're on the losing side. ”