Michael Carrick was the backbone of United's midfield defence, defending Braniff one-on-one but not much of a difference.

How is this possible?

Fifteen minutes into the game, Carrick looked at the oncoming Braniff and began to have a headache.

As the mainstay of Manchester United, Carrick is considered a 'replacement for Roy Keane', a term that Carrick doesn't like, but when it comes to a big club, there will always be all kinds of problems, and being considered a 'replacement' is one of them. As long as his play doesn't catch up with Roy Keane, he will always be considered a replacement.

For example, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Many people see Cristiano Ronaldo as a replacement for Beckham, and this has been the case for the past few seasons, but with the explosion of Cristiano Ronaldo this season, this statement has become rare.

Many are starting to see Cristiano Ronaldo as the new pillar of Manchester United rather than a replacement for such and such a star.

Carrick needs to continue to work on this.

Now Carrick finds that there is some truth in the fans' statements, and he is indeed a little inferior to Roy Keane, for example, the defense in front of him, if Roy Keane faces the Irish kid in front of him, maybe there will be some way, and he ...... It's a bit of a headache.

In the last fifteen minutes, Carrick and Braniff have faced each other three times, and he has not even taken advantage of once.

For the first time, it was easily shaken by Braniff.

The second time, Braniff deceived him with his movements, but suddenly opted for a pass and created a shot for his team-mate.

The third time, Braniff shook off the space and almost completed the shot himself, but fortunately his team-mate blocked the route, but the opponent reacted very quickly and kicked the ball to his teammate first.

Three encounters, can be said to be a failure.

When facing Braniff again, Carrick was a little scared, but he was still very unwilling to admit defeat, especially in defense, even C-Ronaldo asked him to pass, it was not so easy, what is the big deal about the Irishman in front of him?

Carrick stepped forward again.

Blaniff didn't know what Carrick was going through, he just took a few steps forward after receiving the pass, and in the process kept an eye on his teammates' movements in order to find an opportunity to pass to them.

That's when Carrick came up.

Manchester United defended tightly and every player who followed was defended, but Braniff couldn't find a chance and immediately protected the ball when he saw Carrick step forward and slowly moved forward to the left.

Carrick squeezed in and squeezed, his eyes fixed on the ball, looking for an opportunity to kick his feet.

Braniff slammed the ball behind him and turned sharply, Carrick took a step towards him and swung his foot to clear the ball, but Blaniff took the first step, stepped on the ball to the left with the sole of his right foot, and then forced a small step forward.

Carrick's body was unbalanced and he couldn't 'twist' it back at all.

Braniff continued to dribble forward, adjusting his center of gravity in just two steps to leave Carrick behind.

The arena burst into cheers.

"Braniff! He fooled Carrick with his brilliant moves! The continuous movement of his feet made Carrick unable to react at all! ”

"Sky Sports" commentator Mike Johnson praised Braniff and then followed the fast track, "Braniff is still moving forward, he's fast, this is a good opportunity!" ”

Millwall fans in the crowd used shouts to make background music for Branifer's dribble, but the ball distributed to the right side in front of the Braniff penalty area was still blocked by Ferdinand.

That was the end of Millwall's offensive.

Manchester United are not rejoicing.

It didn't take long for the game to start and they felt the pressure from Braniv and Millwall, led by Braniv.

————

In the United dugout, manager Alex Ferguson watched the game with a frown on his brow.

Millwall's style of play is puzzling!

Before the game, the Manchester United team considered that Millwall did not use the 'double core' style of play, but they also did not think that the opponent would fight hard with Manchester United with 442.

The opponent's 442 has always been a defensive style of play, but this game has a style of play with Braniff as the core, with Simpson on the side, which must be biased towards offense.

It's about going head-to-head with Manchester United!

If Millwall had dared to play like this with Manchester United in the past, Ferguson would have been happy to teach each other how to behave, but now it's a little different.

First of all, Manchester United is not prepared for this.

They have always believed that Millwall will give full play to the advantages of the 'double core' midfield to play a technical and defensive game with Manchester United, and they have been preparing accordingly before the game, but the opponent has adjusted their tactics, which means that all targeted preparations have become completely useless.

Carrick, who originally had the task of 'cutting off the opponent's cooperation', could only mark the opponent's core Braniff, and the other players could only play freely, rather than doing anything according to precise tactics.

That left Ferguson out of control of the game.

In addition, Millwall played quite well, and it can be seen in the first ten minutes that Millwall and Manchester United are fighting hard head-to-head and are not falling behind at all.

Although there is a bonus of home advantage, there are also tactical surprises, but it is also quite remarkable, recall that last season's Millwall, no matter how they played, was still suppressed by Manchester United.

That Millwall team is just a 'Premier League powerhouse', far from the top, and they can definitely be described as a 'miracle' to win the league title.

This Millwall team is completely different.

Striker Darren Bentega Vardy, who has overshadowed Wayne Rooney and Alan Smith, the latter in terms of goal numbers, is difficult to compare with the former; Midfielders Livermore and Carrick have advantages and disadvantages, and it's hard to say who is better; At the back, there is Zambrotta and Darren Ward, who is in the England squad.

Wait a minute.

Compared with the starting lineups of the two sides, Millwall is not much worse.

Manchester United's excellent position also lies in the team's ace C-Ronaldo.

C-Ronaldo is so well-rounded and so good that he seems to have surpassed the level of ordinary players and has risen to the level of a true top superstar. This is the end of the lineup comparison, Manchester United undoubtedly have the advantage, but the opponent seems to be putting the chips on the damn Irishman?

Kevin Braniff!

When I think of this name, and then see the figure of wanton play on the field, Ferguson hates itchy, and after many years of coaching, most of the players, and even all the players, no matter which team they play for, will have a minimum of respect for him.

This is not seen in Braniff.

Ferguson remembered Braniff's name, especially the last time they met, the opponent still played well at Old Trafford, which made it even more shameful in his heart, and he couldn't get rid of it.

Is the opponent using Braniff as a hole card?

Braniff?

This player is really amazing?

Ferguson couldn't read it, but he had more confidence in his players --

C-Ronaldo!

Among the 22 players on the field, in terms of individual ability and form, C-Ronaldo is certainly the best one, and Braniff is simply incomparable.

Ace against ace, Manchester United wins!

Ferguson was convinced, and he glanced at the Millwall dugout next to him.

Zhang Yang was also looking over.

The two looked at each other.

Zhang Yang played with the dice in his hand, sat on his toes and nodded his toes, looking leisurely and complacent, and showed a warm smile.

Ferguson tugged at the corners of his mouth, he still couldn't understand why the other party always looked laid-back, as if he didn't care about the game at all?

How can it be!

Could it be that it is in the chest!

More unlikely!

Although he thought so, Ferguson's mood suddenly became a little apprehensive.

————

The confrontation on the field is going on with encouragement.

The two teams do not give in to each other on the field, where the football is, the scramble takes place, and the pace of the game is also very fast, the two sides go back and forth to make the game very hot, and the cheering of the audience is also continuous.

It's hard to see which team has the advantage right now.

The commentators of "Sky Sports" were surprised and said, "I didn't expect the game to be so intense, this is the first time!" In the previous confrontation between Manchester United and Millwall, both sides would be very cautious, but this one is a little different, Manchester United used a new 433 formation, Millwall discharged the 442 with Branifer as the core, the two sides used a new formation, but the game became extremely intense. ”

"It's a head-to-head collision!"

"The scene of Mars hitting the earth is being played out in the game......"

"Manchester United focus on attacking on the wings, Ryan Giggs and Rooney played well, just now the two completed three consecutive combinations, and also allowed Smith in the middle to get a chance, but unfortunately Smith could not pass Wes Morgan's defense."

"Millwall's attack in the middle is stronger, Braniff has performed quite well, and can even be described as 'shining all over the field', Manchester United's defeat against Braniff, Carrick seems to be about to become a wooden man, Braniff can perform like this, it is quite surprising, but looking back at recent times, his strong form, against Real Madrid, against Chelsea, he has become a key role, and now it is not surprising that he can perform well against Manchester United."

"So far, the two teams have played an equal game, statistically, the home team Millwall has 48 per cent possession, slightly below Manchester United's 52 per cent, and the number of shots on goal, Manchester United have three and Millwall have three.

"The stats for both sides are similar, and which team scores first depends on the player's temporary performance......"

As the game progressed, many people noticed something that was about to be strange, and they seemed to have not noticed Cristiano Ronaldo for a long time.

The game started until now, and both teams had their own performances.

The brightest player in the Millwall team is the central core of Braniff, who has the advantage of consecutive battles with Carrick, and also leads Millwall up front, launching a dangerous attack on Manchester United.

Branifer also showed superb skill at his feet, but not only Carrick, but also Fletcher, Wayne Rooney and even centre-back Rio Ferdinand did not take advantage of Branifer alone.

This performance can be said to be the NO.1 in the audience.

Manchester United's performance was very average, with every player up front and playing well together, but it's hard to say that they were outstanding.

The latter point is where the weirdness lies.

Looking back on the past games, most of Manchester United's games will focus on C-Ronaldo, even if C-Ronaldo does not perform well, he will be constantly captured by the camera, but recently, why haven't you noticed C-Ronaldo?

Quite a few people looked at the pitch.

Cristiano Ronaldo is running forward slowly, and a long look can be seen that he has been running hard, but he has to face extremely difficult defense.

The first is Zambrotta.

As long as Cristiano Ronaldo is up front, there will be Zambrotta by his side.

If C-Ronaldo receives a pass, Koncheski will also follow up with the defense, and Koncheski and Zambrotta are enough to cause huge problems for C-Ronaldo.

It's a targeted defense, not a sudden one.

If C-Ronaldo suddenly receives a pass and starts from the side to move forward, even if he encounters two experienced players to defend, he will not be hindered so much, the key is Zambrotta and Konchesky, who are going to C-Ronaldo, when there is no ball, C-Ronaldo has to face Zambrotta's defense, and it is not easy for him to receive the pass, coupled with Koncheski's help defense, it is difficult for him to rush up with the ball.

But not only Zambrotta and Koncheski, but centre-back Darren Ward also seems to like to run to the wings, limiting Cristiano Ronaldo with other teammates, not only when Ronaldo has the ball, but he also endures tough defence without the ball.

This discovery shocked many people.

C-Ronaldo is very good, but Millwall's defense is too 'careful', right?

————

Zhang Yang looked at C-Ronaldo, who was strictly guarded on the field, with a satisfied smile on his face.

That's how he responded.

If it is 4141, the midfielder and the defender are a little disjointed, and Livermore is a single back, which is impossible to take care of the side, so it gives C-Ronaldo space to play.

It's a terrible thing for a player like Cristiano Ronaldo to give him plenty of room to play.

So you have to limit your defense.

When the formation becomes 442, the defensive response is much easier, C-Ronaldo has only one, let Zambrotta target on the side, and then let other teammates cooperate and take care of it, which is enough to put pressure on the opponent.

This is equivalent to sealing the point of C-Ronaldo.

If C-Ronaldo can explode strength, if there is any personal surprise performance, such as suddenly shaking Zambrotta and Darren Ward in a row, there is no way, any team facing Maradona-style players will have a lot of headaches, because any tactics will lose their meaning in the face of absolute strength, and he can only use tactics to limit C-Ronaldo and appropriately block the opponent's play space.

At the tactical level, it is already the limit to do this.

Zhang Yang is looking forward to Branifer's performance.

Ace vs. Ace!

Manchester United has C-Ronaldo, Millwall has Branifer, maybe in terms of personal ability, C-Ronaldo is better, but it will not be really good, the key is that Millwall is cautious to deal with C-Ronaldo, and Manchester United is completely unprepared for Branifer.

The two 'trump cards', who performs better, may not be questioned at all.