While the Spanish media and Valencia were rebuking the flamboyance, Millwall were already playing the final game of a difficult schedule – the third round of the Premier League away to Middlesbrough.

Middlesbrough are the team that was 'abandoned' by McLaren.

McClaren officially announced his departure from Middlesbrough at the end of last season, and after the World Cup in Germany, the FA announced that McClaren would succeed Eriksen as England national team manager.

McLaren left for a 'better future'.

Despite McLaren's pursuit of personal honours and determination to leave Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough fans did not blame him, McLaren's contribution to Middlesbrough cannot be erased, he helped Middlesbrough win a UEFA Cup, and Middlesbrough also reached the final of the UEFA Cup last season.

In the summer, Middlesbrough is more volatile.

In addition to McClaren's departure, former England international Gareth Southgate has retired to take over the vacancy left by McClaren's departure as Middlesbrough manager.

After Southgate took office, he did not drastically change the Middlesbrough lineup, they are still strong in attack and weak in defense, and Middlesbrough's forward configuration is no less than that of the Premier League giants, which is also the capital that they can make a big comeback in the League Cup several times.

Viduka and Yakubu are both figures who can stand alone, especially Yakubu, whose speed and explosiveness are enough to deter any defense line in the Premier League.

Jusselbaink has left the club due to age, but Middlesbrough still has the likes of Macaroni on the bench, and the Italian striker has proven his worth in the UEFA Cup.

Defence is a flaw for Middlesbrough.

With the departure of Quedru and Southgate's retirement, the Middlesbrough defense can only be reassuring with Riggott, Eschiogu, Butters, and Taylor.

This is also an aspect that can be easily targeted by opponents.

Zhang Yang also arranged the game style according to the characteristics of Middlesbrough.

As soon as the game began, you could see Millwall change its strategy, with two backs and four defenders, and the team's style of play seemed to return to last season, with the 'dual core' tactic being suspended and the 4231 formation ensuring the defense.

The biggest focus of the opening game was Millwall's wide starter, Quaresma.

Quaresma has yet to play for the team in competitive games since joining Millwall, with the exception of two warm-up games and not getting a minute in the previous two league games, including a Community Shield Cup match.

In this game, Zhang Yang sent Quaresma.

Millwall's tactics are simple, they focus on defensive play, the veteran players know how to play, and the new players will not make any mistakes as long as they play their positions well.

Quaresma started the game and was still more cautious.

Maybe it's also nervousness.

Quaresma had a failed trip to La Liga, his memories of playing for Barcelona were not good, he was still playing in the Premier League for the first time, and he hoped that he could perform well, but the nervousness was inevitable, after all, it was not a familiar league, and an opponent like Middlesbrough was not easy to deal with.

What will Quaresma do has attracted a lot of attention.

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In the first 20 minutes of the game, Middlesbrough's offensive has been fierce, they took advantage of the home advantage, launched a siege on Millwall, but in terms of the midfield competition between the two teams, Millwall still has a certain advantage, Livermore and Sean Davies's interception, is a huge obstacle to Middlesbrough's attack, and the midfield led by Smitchell in front also brings a lot of threat to Middlesbrough.

Overall, Middlesbrough have the advantage, but the advantage is not obvious, but the analysis of the media believes that Middlesbrough has performed quite well.

Many people see it that way.

'Middlesbrough took advantage of the opening time to keep attacking Millwall's goal, they were quite strong and Millwall seemed to be a little out of shape.

'The game situation is very favourable for Middlesbrough.

"In a team like Middlesbrough, the attack is endless, and the right thing Millwall should do is to keep the attack pressing, not passively defending."

Millwall's style of play was too conservative, perhaps due to the intensity of Middlesbrough's attack, but the hasty adjustment of tactics affected the performance of the whole team. No team dares to say that they can defend against Middlesbrough's attack, and Zhang Yang should perhaps make tactical adjustments. ”

“……”

On the Millwall coach's bench, Zhang Yang sat steadily, with a relaxed expression on his face, playing with two delicate dice in his hands, and seemed to be completely unconcerned about the game.

The camera pointed over twice in a row, and the commentator joked, "Dice seems to have become a new hobby for Zhang Yang, who was holding poker all the time last season." Presumably he wants to bring good luck with gambling props, but Millwall's luck is good, and maybe other coaches can learn from it. ”

At this time, Zhang Yang turned his head to look at the Middlesbrough coach's box, with a smile on the corner of his mouth.

The manager of Middlesbrough is Gareth Southgate.

Southgate's process as Middlesbrough manager seems to be very easy, but in fact it is also very tortuous, Southgate played for Middlesbrough last season, only announced his retirement at the end of the season, and then he volunteered to replace McClaren as Middlesbrough manager.

It is not easy to be the manager of a Premier League team, and many experienced managers who have been in charge for many years are difficult to be favored by Premier League teams, and Southgate needs to compete with managers such as Vinables, Martin O'Neill and Kubishli.

In the end, Southgate succeeded.

Middlesbrough FC considered Southgate to know the team better, and with Southgate having just retired as manager in his first season as a manager and asking for a lower salary, he became the new helmsman of Middlesbrough.

Club president Gibson has put enough trust in Southgate: "Southgate is someone from within the team, he knows the whole team and he can start his job right away. I'm sure he'll be a good coach. ”

Southgate was under pressure at this time.

In the previous two league games, Middlesbrough continued their title of 'killer team' with a 2-3 defeat away to promoted Maledefenne in the first round and a 2-1 home win over Chelsea in the second round.

But the real challenge is long-term stability.

If a team wants to play well in the league, it must first be consistent, last season Middlesbrough played a good half, the second half of the season turned sharply, and even near relegation at the end of the season, McClaren has also been controversial, although they are still competing in the League Cup, but the domestic league is the foundation of the foundation, and the league results are more important than anything else.

Southgate knows this.

However, he knows better that if he can beat Millwall, Middlesbrough will have two wins in three games and two strong teams in a row, and the pressure on his shoulders will be much less.

So Southgate is looking forward to the game.

Since the start of the game, Middlesbrough has played well, although the advantage is not large, it is quite remarkable to be able to suppress Millwall, remember last season's two games, Middlesbrough faced Millwall without any defense.

At this time, as if feeling the gaze of the star, Southgate turned his head and glanced at Zhang Yang.

There was a smile in the other person's eyes.

"What does he mean?" Southgate is a bit of a puzzle that he is a star of fame, more than ten years older than Zhang Yang, but he is still a newcomer in the field of managerial management.

Zhang Yang thought the same thing.

It is not easy to meet a newcomer in the Premier League who is younger than his coaching age, and a sense of superiority of 'old-timers' arises spontaneously.

That's what it means to smile.

Of course, there is another more important meaning......

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Does Middlesbrough really have an advantage?

If this question had been asked, a group of media would have come out and replied in the affirmative, with Middlesbrough having had more possession, attacking more and having more shots than Millwall in the previous game time.

Isn't that an advantage?

The flamboyant view is diametrically opposed, and Millwall has the advantage.

In this game, Millwall's tactical focus is on defense, and 'conservative play' means giving up some offensive play, so that Middlesbrough can play to the advantage.

That's all it takes.

As the game progressed, Millwall had regained the upper hand and the time of possession between the two sides was changing.

Three minutes later, a wave of Middlesbrough's attack came to an end and Millwall unleashed a quick attack.

The attack was played from the wings.

Quaresma hasn't played much since the start of the game, but this time he showed great individual ability, shaking Boateng and Riggott in quick succession to tear through the Middlesbrough defence.

Quaresma played the ball into the box and Smitchell received the pass and pushed it to the side.

David Livermore, who was on the back of his heel, sent the ball straight into the Middlesbrough goal with his trademark bombardment, and goalkeeper Schwarzer watched the football fly into the goal, and his body didn't even react at all.

There was a moment of silence on the pitch as the goal came, and then the Millwall fans who followed the team to the Riverside Stadium erupted in cheers of celebration.

It was a sudden!

"Livermore! Livermore! Signature Shot! On the penalty line, Livermore sent the ball straight into the back of the net! It was a brilliant shot! Livermore didn't hesitate to shoot, goalkeeper Schwarzer didn't react! ”

'Schwarzer's reaction, it says about the quality of the shot, the speed of the ball is fast enough, there are some angles, the other Middlesbrough players didn't have time to organise, Schwarzer didn't have a solution!'

"Sudden goal! Brilliant goal! ”

“……”

The commentator's surprised shout also shows the mood of most people, Millwall's goal came too suddenly, Middlesbrough still had an advantage just now, and many people were also praising Middlesbrough's play, but the next moment, Millwall completed the goal.

It's amazing.

The Millwall players celebrated excitedly, and the players on the bench rushed out, but Zhang Yang only applauded twice.

He wasn't surprised.

It's not that 'foresight' judged the goal, that's only part of the reason.

From the beginning of the game, Millwall had no passivity at all, the 'conservative style of play' was completely formulated for Middlesbrough's style, and the result of 'word and soul divination', Millwall's luck value was assessed as 'Xiao Ji', indicating that the team's luck was also good.

In this case, why would the team lose?

After Livermore helped the team score, Zhang Yang looked at Southgate again, and the meaning of the smile in his eyes was, "I'm an old-timer, you're just a little younger." ”