บท 217: A Shattering Response
After Larsson scored, Aldrich made a gesture to the players before Barcelona's kick-off, and the players immediately understood what he meant.
As the game resumed, Millwall's attack leaned to the left. Pirlo started directing plays towards Larsson, making him the focal point of Barcelona's defense.
Throughout the first half, Barcelona struggled to recover from the shock of conceding. They were constantly dominated by Millwall, failing to control midfield for even a minute!
During half-time, both teams headed to the locker rooms. Robson looked grim, but relief washed over him that they hadn't conceded a second goal in the first half.
Aldrich entered the locker room, closed the door, and asked loudly, "Is anyone tired?"
Although their jerseys were soaked with sweat, the players shouted back in unison, "No!"
After nearly two weeks of preparation for this 90-minute battle, they had fought harder than Barcelona, running more and showing higher intensity, and yet they felt no fatigue. Their physical edge was clear on the pitch.
Aldrich nodded appreciatively and continued, "Give us 45 minutes, and we'll score against Barcelona. Give us 90 minutes, and we'll completely dismantle them! In the second half, we cannot let our guard down. Mistakes will be costly! We may not be the favorites, but we will proudly tell the world: Barcelona is not our opponent! We are the stronger team. I believe you're not afraid of them. We had more chances in the first half, and they barely fought back. In the second half, our only enemy is ourselves! Stay focused; don't think about what to do when we win, and don't change your rhythm based on their performance. Give your best and approach the game with seriousness. No matter what happens, remember our tactics, execute them firmly, and we will win. I don't want to see anyone slack off and make mistakes; doing so would bring you regret and undermine your teammates' efforts. But I trust you won't, because we are?"
"Lions!"
...
Aldrich didn't make any tactical adjustments during half-time. The team had become adept at making in-game adaptations. With just a gesture from Aldrich, the players knew exactly what to do.
Since Barcelona was under pressure in the first half, Aldrich felt no need to disrupt their rhythm with unnecessary adjustments.
If he started playing to protect a slim lead now, he would be handing the initiative back to Barcelona, and he couldn't do that. He motivated the players, urging them to remain unified in mindset, to ignore the score, concentrate on defending against every attack from the opponents, and strive to score more goals!
This was a milestone match. Aldrich wanted to leave the Netherlands not just with a shimmering trophy but also showcasing Millwall's style of football to Europe and the world!
With the second half underway, Barcelona's front players retreated further to receive the ball. Meanwhile, Millwall's attack maintained its rhythm from the end of the first half, still targeting Larsson's side.
Enrique's pressure on the right was insufficient, allowing Capdevila space to venture forward in attack. The competition between the two teams heated up.
Larsson received the ball on the left wing, closely marked by Frell. After taking a lateral step, Larsson sent the ball toward the left sideline.
Capdevila dashed forward, and Enrique sprinted back desperately. The former launched a cross, but Trezeguet failed to make a connection. The ball was cleared by Kuto at the near post and bounced to Popescu, who hesitated for a moment. Nedved successfully intercepted the ball and then passed it horizontally to Larsson, who took a long-range shot, only to see it slide wide of the goal.
Larsson shook his head in disappointment and turned back to defend.
The one most stunned by the movement of Millwall's players was Mourinho on the sidelines.
The Millwall striker, who scored 50 goals in all competitions that season, had an instinctive response after shooting: get back and defend!
How could a team like this not be powerful?
Mourinho also noticed that it was precisely because Millwall's forwards returned to defense that they had more space to strike back. Rapid advances prevented defenders from making mistakes in judgment, and from a speed standpoint, if a forward charged at full speed from the front, defenders who were caught behind would need to turn and sprint, making it easy to shake them off.
The root issue for Barcelona was not difficult to pinpoint: their lineup was too stretched, and their three lines weren't connected, with Millwall effectively slicing through with aggressive defense.
With the forwards up front and the midfield frozen out, if the defenders stayed too far back, their chances of successfully organizing an attack were severely limited. The forwards needed to drop back, the midfielders needed to work harder to create space, and the defenders should also participate in support play. This seemed to play right into Millwall's strategies.
Mourinho racked his brain, trying to figure out how to counter Millwall's approach, realizing that perhaps it was the relentless running that gave them such a clear advantage.
And the blurring of roles was thought-provoking.
Not only Nedved but the responsibilities of forwards returning to defend, defenders participating in the build-up, and multi-faceted offensive initiation made it difficult to assign fixed duties within Millwall's tactical system. Even Makelele, renowned for his precise short passes, contributed to Pirlo's orchestration. While Pirlo was the crucial commander, he wasn't the only player responsible for organizing play; when a threatening ball was needed, Nedved could also deliver.
How should Barcelona play?
As an assistant, Mourinho was stressed, but Barcelona scored!
Figo, after dropping deep to receive the ball, didn't cut to the byline. Having retreated so far, Schneider didn't press him closely. After all, advancing could expose a lot of space behind him—protecting space was far more important than tight man-to-man marking.
Unexpectedly, Figo dribbled inward, drawing Makelele's attention. Pirlo instinctively moved to intercept Figo but was easily bypassed by the latter.
Makelele fell back as Figo approached the edge of the penalty box, and suddenly, Figo unleashed a thunderous long-range shot!
The ball flew up suddenly and hit the crossbar with a loud bang. Bart had already pounced, but because the angle was too small and the ball was too fast, he did not touch the ball. Fortunately, the ball bounced out.
De La Peña gathered the ball in the box, with Makelele hustling to close him down. Yet, De La Peña passed to the right side of the box.
Enrique arrived just in time to provide a horizontal pass, and Ronaldo stopped the ball near the penalty spot!
Southgate and Helguera were tightly positioned one in front of the other, vying to press Ronaldo. He feigned a shot, causing Helguera to stretch his leg for a block. Southgate couldn't afford to risk himself too, simply trying to put pressure on Ronaldo.
Helguera felt confident his body could block the shot angle, but in the next moment, Ronaldo slipped the ball aside.
A brilliant feint!
Helguera lost balance while Southgate was helpless, and when he slid in to block Ronaldo's actual shot, the ball was already soaring towards the goal.
It rolled in smoothly, touching the inside of the post before finding the back of the net.
In the 67th minute of the second half, Barcelona equalized!
"Ronaldo shoots—no, he didn't shoot! He bypassed Helguera, and it's a shot! The ball is in! Ronaldo scores the equaliser, fooling everyone in Millwall's defense! He's destined to become a great scorer! Even if Larsson has more goals, look at Ronaldo's age!"
After Ronaldo's goal, Barcelona's bench erupted in celebration. Mourinho, lost in thought, jumped up and waved his arms in euphoria while the older coach, Robson, showed a gentle smile, reminding Mourinho to stay grounded.
It was just a goal to equalize!
But the players from Barcelona were ecstatic. They, who participated directly in the game, understood how hard-fought this goal was!
Millwall had maintained the advantage yet failed to extend the lead, prompting the players to glance at Aldrich.
However, Aldrich clenched his right fist and gestured, giving a thumbs up toward Barcelona's goal.
The players quickly shook off their disappointment at conceding.
Once the game resumed, it felt as if Barcelona was looking to capitalize on their momentum. As Millwall kicked off, they charged forward.
The ball danced across Millwall's players' feet, and they passed with calm precision.
Trezeguet—Shevchenko—Pirlo—Makelele—Southgate—Capdevila—Southgate—Schneider—Pirlo—Larsson—Nedved.
After the re-kick, 11 successful passes landed the ball back at Larsson's feet.
Barcelona was pressing hard, and suddenly, the ball arrived at their most dangerous point—Larsson, striking fear into their defense, who rushed in to apply frantic pressure. Larsson returned the ball to Nedved, who sent a through ball without taking a touch. Larsson made a run, but the ball didn't come his way.
All of Barcelona's defenders thought Larsson would complete the final blow, but unexpectedly, Nedved's through pass found Shevchenko on the opposite side.
Shevchenko sped past Sergi and broke into the penalty area. Baía, realizing the threat, rushed out, but Shevchenko was faster by a fraction of a second. He poked the ball past, and Baía's heart dropped as he saw the ball rolling—straight toward the goal!
The goal was wide open!
Abelardo tried his best but failed to touch the ball. Trezeguet beat Cotto at the back post, tackled the ball, toed the ball and slotted it into the Barcelona goal.
As that goal went in, the stadium fell into a momentary silence.
The spectators were dumbfounded.
What just happened?
Even the commentator struggled to contain his excitement.
"Larsson passed to Nedved, who without taking a touch, sent a through ball to the right side of the box for Shevchenko! He beat Baía to the ball and sent it toward the center, and Trezeguet is down for the slide! The ball is in! The ball is in! Millwall has quickly regained the lead after conceding! Barcelona hasn't even touched the ball since the restart! Let's count: Millwall completed 13 passes, and Trezeguet finished the attack, turning his teammates' efforts into a golden goal! The first touch was his kick-off from midfield, and the last touch was his shot! What more can we say? This is the epitome of team football!"
Trezeguet roared as he dashed toward the sideline, instantly tearing off his jersey in celebration.
With just a few minutes left, Aldrich began to make substitutions.
Ballack, Zambrotta, and Gronkjaer were already waiting by the bench.
Benitez, Jansen, and Craig were explaining to each of them what their roles and responsibilities would be once they stepped onto the field.
Barcelona had just equalized and barely a minute later found themselves trailing again, hitting them hard.
Robson quickly sent in reinforcements; the veteran coach was going all out!
In a rare move, both teams made simultaneous changes, each substituting three players!
Millwall replaced Capdevila with Zambrotta, Trezeguet with Gronkjaer, and Pirlo with Ballack.
Their formation shifted to 4-2-3-1, with Shevchenko leading the front, Larsson and Gronkjaer on the wings, and Ballack and Makelele as the dual defensive midfielders.
Barcelona swapped Pizzi in for Popescu, Stoichkov for Frell, and Giovanni for Abelardo.
What formation was Barcelona playing after these substitutions?
Who knows!
Simplistically, among the defenders on the pitch, excluding the goalkeeper, only Sergi and Kuto remained! Even with the defensive midfielder Guardiola included, that made only three!
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