At Highbury Stadium, Millwall beat home team Arsenal by a narrow goal, revealing the difficulty of the process, and at the same time, Millwall also received good news.

Six wins in a row in the New Year were a cause for joy, and the mistakes of rivals were a blessing from heaven, and the focus of media attention after the game was also Chelsea's 3-0 defeat to Middlesbrough.

0 to 3!

The last time Chelsea lost so badly was in 2002, when Claudio Ranieri's side lost by three goals to Manchester United.

Since Jose Mourinho took charge, Chelsea have not lost by such a large margin, and Millwall's 3-1 win is already 'extremely rare', and the three-goal defeat has set a new record for the 'most miserable defeat' since Mourinho took charge.

Chelsea lost without warning.

In the last FA Cup round of 16 match between Chelsea and Everton (the FA Cup was drawn in the first round, the stadium will be changed for the second round), Chelsea defeated Everton in the last round 4-1, without any suspense.

Mourinho was reluctant to accept the heavy defeat, but he had to accept it: "When you lose, it's a bad day for sure, especially when you don't usually lose much. It was my fourth league defeat in my days at Chelsea and you could say this was the worst. ”

'Last season we lost 1-0 to Manchester City, but in terms of content we shouldn't have lost, this season we lost 0-1 to Manchester United, 1-3 to Millwall, in terms of content, we shouldn't have lost both, today we lost 0-3, this time there are no complaints.'

Mourinho's ability to admit defeat so calmly is enough to show the 'miserable' process of the game.

Chelsea conceded just 80 seconds into the opening game, when Roshenbach tackled Essien down the left and passed to Yakubu, the Nigerian passed back to Roshenbach and the Brazilian burst into the left side of the box and shook John Terry before firing a left-footed volley that Petr Cech couldn't save and the ball went underneath the net.

This ball is 'credited' to Essien.

At the beginning of the game, Essien was chaotic and did not quickly integrate into the game at all, and the opponent suddenly accelerated and reacted in time, and was directly stealed.

After the game, the media also continued to criticise Essien, arguing that 'Jose Mourinho should not have placed so much trust in a player who has been chronically sluggish, even if he was an important addition in the summer and spent more than £20 million'.

When Chelsea conceded a goal, most people expected to see the defending champions rise from adversity to draw or even win, but Chelsea gradually turned into an unfamiliar black in the subsequent games, following a path of "I don't lose today, who loses".

This is the worst Chelsea in two seasons!

The score of '0:3' is just one of the symptoms. If very unlucky, any strong team can lose by such a scoreline, and the problem is that Chelsea have been so poor that Mourinho has lost his temper.

From the first minute to the end of the match, he was calm and seemed ready to lose.

After the game, Mourinho made a 'rare' sarcasm at Chelsea, saying: "Chelsea are really experts at saving teams in trouble. Betis hadn't won in a long time then, but they won against us; Everton had been losing in a row before, starting with the first point against us, and then they came out of the slump; It was the same today (Middlesbrough lost 4-0 at home to Aston Villa last time) and we can all give people a new lease of life in different situations. ”

Chelsea's defeat is Millwall's success.

After Chelsea's big defeat to Middlesbrough, Millwall's league points advantage reached four points, already two games apart.

This was a relief to the team.

In fact, because the two teams are only one point apart in points, in the face of every game, the players are under a lot of psychological pressure, because they know that a draw means losing two points, and then being overtaken by Chelsea, no one wants to see the team be surpassed again, and it also makes the whole team participate in the league with a psychological burden, there is a four-point gap, the situation is different, and they will be much more relaxed when they participate in the game, because the points leave room for them to make mistakes.

The media began to sing praises under Millwall's good form, before the media was surprised by Millwall's results, but did not think they could hold on to the end of the league, and now Millwall has opened up a four-point gap for Chelsea, and the chances have naturally increased a lot.

In many media reports, they have made it clear that "Millwall's performance this season is very surprising, beating several giants, sitting at the top of the league table, they are likely to win the Premier League title, which will once again refresh the history of Millwall club!" ”

Next, he talked about Zhang Yang, "Since last Christmas, this young Chinese has led Millwall to create one miracle after another!" First the Championship champion, then to the top of the Premier League, in one year, he has made a huge change in Millwall, and has also completed the goals that most clubs have been difficult to achieve in ten years, or even decades! ”

"This is Zhang Yang, a twenty-two-year-old young Chinese, like some extreme Millwall said, 'We don't welcome foreign coaches, but we will welcome Zhang Yang because he can bring victory to Millwall.'"

Where there are voices of support, there are voices of opposition.

A lot of the media are still singing a bad song to Millwall, they won't point out any strength, squad or experience problems, the league has been played for 26 rounds, and it doesn't make sense to say that, no matter how difficult Millwall's game is, they have been winning all the time, so the media is talking about the problem of ensuring results in the sprint stage.

"Even Chelsea have slipped! Millwall can't win all the time! ”

There is a lot of support for this view.

Even the best teams will have bad times, and Chelsea proved that last round by playing almost perfectly, and no one would have thought that they would lose to Middlesbrough by a big margin.

And so the race happened!

While many people were surprised, they also lamented the uncertainty of the football game.

This also gave Zhang Yang a wake-up call.

When Millwall opened up a four-point gap, he was not going to be complacent, or to follow the media narrative that Millwall would win the Premier League.

The reason is simple: the difficulties against Arsenal in the last round seem to be still playing out in front of us.

How tough was that?

Just look at some of the games where the small ball will beat the giants, Arsenal had a lot of chances in the whole game, but in the end Millwall won, and if there is a little problem in the process, the result of the game will be changed, and the game is too difficult.

Will such a game be played out too often?

Zhang Yang still has a little bit of confidence, because of the additional effect of supernatural ability, Millwall's advantage is very obvious, but not every game will be so lucky, Arsenal is still only a 'midstream' opponent, and the difference in strength between the two sides is red.

What about Manchester United?

What about Chelsea?

Even teams such as Middlesbrough, Everton, and Newcastle United are not easy to deal with.

At present, Millwall's strength is ranked in the middle of the Premier League by relying on new tactics, and it can still play with the middle of the Premier League, and it is too difficult to beat the giants who play well.

In addition, there are many away games in the second half of the schedule.

The game against Manchester United is away, and the game against Chelsea is also away.

These two away games, mobilizing all forces, it is very difficult to win, what about after winning? The team will definitely be affected very much, the physical condition of the players is a big problem, and in order to prepare for the game, you have to give up some of the preparation for the game.

That's the problem.

Zhang Yang wanted to win all the games, but reason told him that if he wanted to score more points, he would have to give up some of them.

That's the right choice.

With the 'supernatural ability' ability, Millwall has a great advantage, but whether it is 'following the word' or 'lucky bonus', it will not have a direct effect, especially when playing against a strong team, the difference in strength between the two sides is too large, and even if the ability is used, the result is often unsatisfactory.

In fact, the most advantageous thing is the ability to 'predict'.

The ability to 'predict' the game can be predicted in advance, and when playing against opponents in the same class, or small clubs, Millwall can effectively stagger the 'accidents', and when most accidents do not happen, the chances of winning are greatly increased.

From the start of the season to now, Millwall have won most of the 'points they deserve', which is why the team has been doing so well so far.

The win over the giants was just a three-point game.

Wins over other teams, but with many games, ensures a rapid increase in the team's points.

If there is an advantage, there must be a disadvantage, Millwall's disadvantage is that the strength is insufficient, the process of playing with a strong team is too difficult, the impact on the team is very great, there is a lot of preparation before the game, and after the game, you have to face the decline of the player's condition, physical overdraft, and even the danger of injury.

"It looks like we're going to have to get used to giving up some games." Zhang Yang thought about it.

He didn't quite think it through.

He doesn't need to make a decision now, because the next games are 'must win'.

In the 27th round of the league, Millwall hosted Everton.

Ahead of the game, Jody Morris is officially back in the squad and Millwall can send most of their main players into the squad as well.

However, Smitchell and others, who played in the last round, were still a little out of shape, and Millwall's overall performance was not too good, but in the end Millwall still won the game 2-1, which was a good start in March.

A week later, Millwall travelled to Bolton.

It was an easy game.

Millwall's four goals in the second half made Bolton unable to resist, and the final score was 2-4, and Bolton still scored two goals at home, but this did not help them to win, only to save face.

Next up is the FA Cup.

The FA Cup quarter-finals were played over four days, with Millwall on the third day and they also met their most relaxed opponents, West Ham United.

In terms of history, the club's location and the fan area, Millwall and West Ham United are rivals in the same city and have a very strong rivalry with each other, but in reality, the two teams do not have a direct rivalry, mainly because most of the time, Millwall and West Ham United are not in the same league.

West Ham United are much stronger than Millwall, and one thing alone: West Ham United's academy is enough to say something.

West Ham United's academy is one of the best youth systems in England, and has produced many excellent players, such as Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand and Chelsea's Frank Lampard, all of whom came from West Ham United.

With such an excellent academy, West Ham United's history will never be bad, and it is definitely incomparable to Millwall, who have always been in the lower league.

Now the situation has reversed.

Millwall are a Premier League side, while West Ham United are struggling in the Championship.

When the two teams meet, few will be optimistic about West Ham, who have been in decline for two seasons and simply cannot afford to challenge a Premier League team, not to mention that Millwall are still at the top of the Premier League.

Perhaps West Ham fans will hope that the team can win Millwall, one game is the quarterfinals, West Ham United can enter the semi-finals with this, and the other is that the two teams are indeed mortal enemies in the traditional sense, no matter how big the contradiction is, there is certainly no problem in defeating the mortal enemy.

In addition, Millwall is still at the top of the Premier League, isn't it an honor to be able to beat the top of the Premier League?

But the game disappointed West Ham fans.

Although West Ham United is at home, the game seems to be Millwall 'looking for confidence', West Ham United has no power to fight back, most of the time, football is controlled at the feet of Millwall players, they are not only in possession, some players, such as Darren Bent, Simpson and others, but also continue to show off their personal technical footwork, even if they are demanding, they have to admit that such as Simpson, Morris and others, their individual ability has been higher than the level of West Ham United players, they are star players on the field, the game can be played at will, which can put a lot of pressure on West Ham United.

The final score was 1-5.

With the home team up front and the visitors behind, Millwall beat West Ham United to reach the FA Cup semi-finals.

————

The FA Cup quarter-finals have come to an end with Millwall, Chelsea, Liverpool and Middlesbrough in the last four.

In the FA Cup, after each round, a draw is held for the next round, and the end of the semi-finals will not be an exception, and the teams that enter the semi-finals will draw their opponents.

Once all the matches are over, it's time to draw lots for the semi-finals.

In the past, most of the people who participated in the FA Cup draw were club representatives, such as managers, officials, board members, etc., but when it comes to the semi-finals, there may only be three opponents, and each opponent is difficult to deal with, so the draw has become very important.

As a result, the 'high-level figures' of each team will participate in the draw.

Millwall is going through turmoil, selling his stakes, but Grigory, who did not announce his departure, will not come to the club at all, Ebenezer is still the CEO, but he has not yet seen a new owner, and the power in his hands is full of uncertainty.

The only 'high-level figure' is the head coach Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang did not shirk, and after learning about the top four teams, he decided to participate in the draw.

Chelsea?

Liverpool?

These two opponents are not very good, it is not easy to beat them, and only Middlesbrough is in line with their hearts, and when they meet Middlesbrough in the semi-finals, the chances of reaching the final are too great.

Zhang Yang decided, "We must meet Middlesbrough, and we must play at home!" ”

He smiled.

The new ability 'gambling' finally has a place to use!