"Winning is not the goal, we are here to conquer the fans!?" When Sunderland coach McCarthy learned what Zhang Yang said at the press conference, he almost vomited blood three liters of anger.

Victory is not yet the goal?

Not to win over the fans?

Is this a vow to crush Sunderland by a big score?

Even the giants don't dare to be so arrogant, and a Premier League promotion horse like Sunderland dares to say such things!

McCarthy resolutely cannot tolerate it!

So McCarthy thought of what he thought was the best way to leak the news to all the players and let them know how Millwall's young manager despised Sunderland and despised each and every one of them.

"He said this publicly, and he didn't take us seriously at all!"

"I'm sure you're going to show in the game that we're not the right team to play against, right?"

"In this game, we can only win and not lose! We've been cornered! We're going to go all out for our first Premier League win! ”

“……”

McCarthy borrowed flamboyant words to boost the morale of the whole team, and his approach did have a little effect, and every Sunderland player wanted to get on the pitch and teach Millwall a hard lesson that 'didn't take them seriously'.

McCarthy walked out with the team, and when he saw the other side of the team, the corners of his mouth suddenly curled.

Brat!

You're still too young!

If you think you are fighting Sunderland, the finish turns into a fierce Sunderland means!

That's what a veteran manager does!

Zhang Yang saw the smile on the corner of McCarthy's mouth, just made a 'no big deal' shrug motion, and then complained to the fourth official next to him, "Sir, I think that person is deliberately provoking, and the referee should pay attention to it." ”

Fourth, the official looked over.

Zhang Yang analyzed, "Did you see his eyes?" How aggressive, that's not sportsmanship! ”

"He probably wanted to provoke me, he saw that I was too young. I can't help it, and I don't dare to respond, so I can only ask you for help. ”

After hearing this, the fourth official smiled helplessly and wryly, "The game is about to start, you better go back to your seat!" ”

"But what if he's still defiant?" Zhang Yang looked like he was angry.

"I'll remind him of it!"

The fourth official said helplessly, and then informed the linesman of the walkie-talkie in his hand, and the linesman walked over inexplicably and said to McCarthy, "Sir, please be careful not to provoke in the game." ”

McCarthy froze.

After the linesman left, he didn't know what the other party was doing.

Provocation?

Where did I provoke?

With McCarthy's inexplicable expression on his face, Sunderland's home game against Millwall began.

The Sunderland players are trying to teach Millwall a hard lesson in the game, and they don't think Millwall are very strong, because last season, like them, Millwall was only a Championship team, and Sunderland won both meetings between the two teams.

In the summer, Millwall did not make any big additions to their squad, and many of their starting line-ups were the main players of last season.

There is not much difference between the two sides.

No, some Sunderland players subjectively think that their strength is stronger, Millwall's previous results are very good, and they won against Arsenal in the last round, but it is just that Sunderland did not perform well, or it can also be considered that Millwall's opponents did not perform well, but Sunderland has the advantage in the end, and they are still playing at home, the advantage is too obvious.

McCarthy was so motivated that he didn't mention Millwall's quality at all, and when the game left, the Sunderland players were playing with a 'better team than Millwall' mentality, but they soon found that it was very difficult for them to get out of the half, let alone 'teach the other side a hard lesson'.

From the first minute, Millwall launched a tough attack.

Millwall played almost in the Sunderland half, and even the back-of-the-line was near the halfway line, with very few return passes, and most of the time, the football was in the Sunderland half.

Sunderland was beaten for a while.

A lot of the players still had a 'lesson Millwall' in their minds, and when Millwall started to attack, they thought that the next wave of attack would definitely change the situation, and this thought lasted in their minds for a few minutes.

Wait.

Wait, wait, wait.

Millwall's wave of attack played for a long time, Sunderland snatched the ball a few times in the middle, but before it could be brought past the halfway line, it was the goalkeeper Kelvin Davies who saved the ball in his arms, defusing a goalmouth crisis and allowing Sunderland to breathe.

Sunderland began to organise an attack.

When the football finally fell at their feet, they thought about counterattacking back and teaching Millwall a hard lesson to stop being so arrogant at the Stadium of Light, but Sunderland's offensive only lasted five seconds.

When the ball flew over the frontcourt, defender Werthead failed to control the ball and was snatched away by Marvin Elliott.

Then it was Millwall's attacking time.

Sunderland was forced to retreat to the defense, and many players couldn't help but complain about Werthead: "Why is it so easy for the opponent to steal the ball? ”

But there was no way, they could only defend.

"Wait for the next opportunity!"

With another three minutes to go, Sunderland struggled to snatch the ball away and control it in defence, leaving them with a relentless attack from Millwall.

That's the scene in the first ten minutes of the game.

Anyone who watched the first ten minutes of the game could have concluded: "Sunderland are no match for Millwall!" ”

But why is there such a big gap?

Many media attributed the reason to Millwall's excellent performance and fighting spirit, and the team's consecutive wins also brought a lot of confidence; Sunderland is the opposite, even if they play at home, they have lost so many games before, and they have no fighting spirit to speak of.

In the face of the ups and downs, it is not surprising that Millwall have the upper hand.

McCarthy also understands it this way, and many media outlets have praised Millwall's new tactics, and some Premier League managers have also been involved, but McCarthy does not believe that one tactic can change a team.

What strength Millwall has, he couldn't know better!

Now in the Millwall squad, striker Braniff, fullback Joey Healy, midfielders Elliott, Livermore, defenders Darren Ward, Tony Clegg, these are all old players from last season, the strength is on the bright side, six of the eleven players are familiar, and it will not make much difference if four players are replaced.

So what is the reason for Millwall's advantage?

McCarthy came to the conclusion that it should be the opponent's offensive play regardless of defense that made Sunderland a little uncomfortable.

This offensive can't last long!

When Millwall have to slow down, it's a good opportunity for Sunderland to counter-attack!

The flamboyant view is diametrically opposed to McCarthy's.

From the beginning of the game, Zhang Yang almost knew what the game would be like, and Sunderland's summer transfer was also brought in, but one or two players could not make much difference, they were not much different from last season, coupled with consecutive losses, the fighting spirit of the whole team was not very good.

Now Sunderland can play a 'six-star' strength at most, and if you analyze it accurately, it is estimated that they will also have five-star high-end strength.

What about Millwall?

The team is firmly over seven stars.

The two sides are not at the same level at all, and with the impact of fighting spirit, it is normal to be able to completely suppress Sunderland.

The media also analysed the competition.

Due to Sunderland's extremely poor performance, almost all the media are optimistic that Millwall can win, and the current game confirms this even more, but some media commentators are still very conservative in their predictions for the score, they believe that Millwall will attack aggressively and will not score a few goals, like Zhang Yang's 'defeat of Sunderland', which is even more unlikely.

'1 to 0' is the prediction of most commentators!

"It's up to Millwall when they finish scoring!" After careful analysis, a commentator said the result of the prediction.

Audience.

There were 18,000 Sunderland fans watching the game.

This figure is not as good as Sunderland's results in the Championship, which shows how disappointed Sunderland fans are with the team's results, but the Sunderland fans who come are absolutely surrounded by Sunderland, and it is enough to prove their loyalty to maintain their support for the fans under such circumstances.

Before the start of the game, Zhang Yang's words of 'defeating Sunderland' and 'conquering the fans' also angered many Sunderland fans.

When watching the game in the audience, many fans spontaneously shouted slogans, some supported Sunderland, and some scolded Millwall and Zhang Yang, those slogans felt insulting to the ears when they heard it, and when the English watched the game, they had completely lost their hypocritical gentlemanly demeanor.

In the minds of Sunderland fans, such shouts are enough to put pressure on Millwall.

As long as they can put pressure on Millwall and affect their performance, maybe Sunderland will have their first Premier League win?

Many fans think so.

So they shouted even harder.

But what they didn't expect was that Millwall didn't seem to be affected in any way, and for ten minutes of the game, Sunderland was suppressed all the time, just like playing against a giant team, Sunderland couldn't even attack, and the two sides didn't seem to be at the same level.

This made the Sunderland fans very depressed, they worked hard for a long time, the team did not perform, what else can be done?

In the thirteenth minute, the game finally got started.

Millwall's attack was quite threatening, they surrounded the Sunderland half, the football kept rolling back and forth in the penalty area, several front-court players were running frequently to create a threat, and when Livermore kicked the ball into the box, the Sunderland defenders couldn't help but steal Livermore in front of the box.

Seeing Livermore fall to the ground, Zhang Yang couldn't help but be a little worried.

The next moment, Livermore stood up unconcerned, faster than the defender who had brought him down, and shouted at the referee, "He fouled!" He fouled! ”

Zhang Yang felt a pain in his head, this guy is really brainless!

The others were put down by the opposing player, and how could they also walk on the grass for a while to win some sympathy from the referee, but this guy acted like a nobody......

Stupid!

Fortunately, the referee saw the foul on the Sunderland defender and showed a yellow card to the opponent, while giving Millwall a free-kick.

Josh Simpson steps forward to take a free-kick.

The foul was only 20 metres from the goal, in the middle of the penalty area, which can be said to be one of the best positions.

The Sunderland players didn't care too much.

Although there are many media outlets praising Josh Simpson and calling him 'David Beckham's successor', many young players across Europe are called 'XXX's successor' or 'second XXX', which is not a big deal at all, and players who often carry this title later prove to be pure hype.

The Sunderland players also see Simpson that way.

Because it is very close to the goal, which means that the angle is a little big, Sunderland still discharged a four-man wall, and the other players are piled up next to the penalty area, ready to defend the opponent's possible cooperation, Braniff is taken care of, and the forward Smitchell is even more sandwiched by the other two, in the Sunderland players, Smitchell is the most threatening as a famous star.

With everyone's eyes watching, Simpson chose to go straight to the goal!

One foot hanging door!

It's fast!

Angle!

The soccer ball also carries a noticeable spin when it is in the air!

Goalkeeper Daviston realised he had been careless as the ball flew out from under Simpson's feet, and then he knew he had paid the price for his carelessness – the ball's arc skewed a bit as he got up to make a save, and when he pounced on the intended position, the ball went over his fingers and spun into the back of the net.