บท 149: Stepping Away from the Title Race
The immaturity of the team is often reflected in two aspects: one is the lack of maturity in the tactical system, meaning the team's offense and defense are chaotic; the other is the team's mentality, which lacks stability and composure in crucial games.
Today, Millwall exhibited both issues.
It was the immaturity of their mentality that led to the collapse of their tactical system.
The team has trained in cooperative passing and running, focusing on quick, efficient one-touch football. Nevertheless, while striving for a fast tempo, it must also consider the players' ability to cope with that speed.
For instance, if a pass is too long, players can't catch up; if a pass is too early, players aren't in position. This directly correlates with the maturity of a team.
Wanting to take out their opponents in one go, Millwall's players aimed for a crushing victory over Leeds United. They increased the speed of their passing, but the urge for quick plays often distracted them from thinking through their options, resulting in substandard passes.
Thus, although it appeared that Millwall was relentlessly attacking in the first half, their offense was actually chaotic enough to make Aldrich feel his heart bleed.
Seeking speed isn't necessarily wrong, but there's a saying: being half a step ahead is genius, while being a whole step ahead is madness.
As long as Millwall can control their pace within a reasonable high speed that they can manage themselves while Leeds struggles to keep up, even missing by half a step, Millwall's advantages will begin to show. However, aimlessly pursuing even more speed is akin to self-destruction.
This isn't a matter of technical ability; it's a mentality issue.
Aldrich didn't chastise the team; instead, he continued encouraging them.
As the second half began, Millwall seemed to revert to the state they had shown a few matches prior.
Their offense and defense were balanced, and the players no longer pursued a frantic pace. Instead, they adapted their tempo, alternating between fast and slow.
Just as the team's performance began to improve, disaster struck — the very thing Aldrich had feared most.
After receiving the ball, Pires attempted a sudden acceleration to break through, but halfway through he kicked the ball out of play and gingerly walked toward the sidelines, touching his hamstring.
Clearly, he had sustained an injury.
It's very easy to pull a muscle when making an explosive move while in a state of extreme fatigue.
Aldrich called Shevchenko to warm up and offered words of comfort to Pires as he exited the field. Pires' ability to walk on his own suggested that the injury wasn't serious; if it had been, he would have been lying down in pain.
He then called Turam and Schneider over to clarify their offensive roles on the field.
Originally, Schneider was supposed to have an inward cutting role in the offense, but given his poor performance against dense defending, Aldrich instructed him to focus only on crossing and linking up play, while Turam should press forward and stay near the penalty area, searching for long shot opportunities.
This was a makeshift solution, not Aldrich's ideal tactical execution; Schneider was often marked closely, and merely passing wouldn't have the element of surprise.
Shevchenko had little need for guidance when he came on. While he trained primarily as a right winger, tasked with support and making runs forward to score, it was ultimately necessary for him to play on the left. The principle remained the same: when Zambrotta surged forward, Shevchenko needed to break into the box to pose a threat.
Once substitutions were made, Shevchenko quickly created a chance. Unlike Pires, he was adept at dribbling and cutting inside, catching the Leeds defense off guard with his movement.
Schneider's cross arrived at the far post, and Shevchenko expertly volleyed it, hitting the crossbar before the ball bounced back down.
A huge sigh swept through the Lion's Den stadium, followed by a burst of applause.
The inexperienced Shevchenko touched his face, feeling guilty as if he had let someone down. However, seeing no blame in his teammates' eyes, he let out a heavy breath and positioned himself to help defend.
As time ticked away, news arrived from the match between Newcastle United and Manchester United: both teams were leading their opponents, with Manchester United already ahead by four goals against Nottingham Forest, seemingly certain of three points.
Shevchenko's relentless runs were putting immense pressure on the Leeds defense, causing Larsson to drop deeper to help Nedved relieve the attacking pressure.
As the 74th minute arrived, Nedved played the ball back to Makélélé, who carried it over halfway and delivered a direct pass to Larsson in the right forward area.
Before receiving the ball, Larsson had already been assessing the situation around him.
Just as Aldrich reminded during halftime: stay calm!
Schneider's run to the byline pulled the fullback away, while Trezeguet drew defenders toward him in the box, and Shevchenko and Nedved's forward runs forced Leeds players to mark tightly.
Apart from the defensive midfielder pressuring him, Larsson was not surrounded, and he felt grateful to Trezeguet; his partner really knew how to move, running in the opposite direction to pull the right-side center back away.
When the ball was rolling toward him, Larsson unexpectedly raised his right foot, letting the ball roll past him as he turned and started to sprint forward. The ball slipped under his feet and outmaneuvered the midfielder chasing from behind. It was truly a clever feint! Larsson then faced the defensive line, advanced with the ball, and as Trezeguet cleared the right center-back, a gap opened in Leeds United's defense. Larsson's dribbling had put him in a prime position for a one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
The goalkeeper nervously lowered his center of gravity, spreading his arms to increase his defensive area as defenders rushed toward Larsson.
In that instant, Larsson played the ball across to the left, and an unmarked Trezeguet tapped it into the empty net!
"Seventy-five minutes in, Millwall has finally scored! They've pulled one back, but they still need two goals to stay in the title race. With fifteen minutes remaining, can they do it? Oh, wait, wait, oh no! Trezeguet went to fetch the ball from the net after scoring but twisted his ankle. It's strange; Millwall players keep getting injured without any contact today — perhaps they're just too exhausted."
Trezeguet had been tense all match, but scoring brought a sense of relief. Unfortunately, in his eagerness to retrieve the ball, he rolled his ankle, a symptom of extreme fatigue causing his body and mind to be out of sync.
The injury wasn't severe, but he could no longer continue. Frustrated, he walked off the field, facing a concerned Nedved who approached him. He dejectedly replied, "Don't worry about me; just tell the boss to make a substitution quickly. We still have time. The boss said we can win, and I believe we can!"
Nedved patted his head to comfort him, then sprinted back to the half.
Aldrich reluctantly had to substitute Trezeguet for Solskjær.
Although the player was set to leave in the summer, Aldrich still gave him the opportunity, as he felt he had a responsibility to treat these players as friends in life. Solskjær's presence at the club meant he deserved fair treatment and a chance to play; Aldrich would not bury him on the bench just because of a transfer.
Before Solskjær came on, Aldrich carefully laid out some tactical instructions. Solskjær listened attentively; even though he was leaving, he still regarded Aldrich's words as invaluable advice he could carry with him.
Leeds left two players up front for counterattacks in the second half, but once the clock ticked past the 80th minute, they fully retreated, abandoning their hope for a counterattack. They only needed to prevent conceding further goals to secure three points at Lion's Den.
Upon entering the pitch, Solskjær didn't replace Trezeguet's position. Instead, he worked with Larsson to create space, coordinating in tight quarters. After Solskjær set up Turam for a long-range shot, Leeds' defense immediately took notice, even though the shot went wide.
The defense pushed higher to avoid giving players like Nedved and Turam opportunities for long-range shots, while also compressing the passing space for Larsson and Solskjær.
As the game reached the second minute of injury time, Thuram, having already taken three long shots, finally decided against another attempt. Instead, he expertly delivered a lobbed pass that sliced through to the left side of the penalty spot. The Leeds United defenders were taken aback; Larsson, Solskjær, and Nedved lingered before them, with no one breaking forward. But the ball went sailing behind them—who would claim it? Obviously, there was someone ready to take advantage.
Shevchenko made a diagonal run from the left. His timing wasn't perfect; he only started his run as he saw the ball coming, but Turam's pass surprised Leeds United's players. They expected him to shoot again as their own defenders glued themselves to their marks.
Out of the blue, Shevchenko burst into the box and linked up quickly with the right back Turam.
The goalkeeper made a bold move, but Shevchenko was quicker, seizing the ball just before the opponent could jump. The goalkeeper's reckless dive resulted in the ball bouncing away from his legs and rolling behind him. As he landed, he reached out to drag down Shevchenko, who was sprinting past, ready to shoot.
The explosive forward collapsed inside the box, infuriating the Lion's Den crowd, who stood and vociferously condemned the goalkeeper for his intentional foul!
"Damn it!"
If he hadn't fouled, Shevchenko would've surely scored.
Now they have to take a penalty, wasting a lot of time in the process.
The referee blew the whistle to stop the game, sending off the Leeds United goalkeeper and awarding Millwall a penalty kick.
Larsson stood at the penalty spot, fully aware of the significance of this shot.
Fortunately, the opposing backup goalkeeper came on without even warming up.
Despite the pressure, Larsson calmly slotted the ball into the lower right corner of the goal, as the opposing keeper dove the wrong way.
Millwall had equalized!
As soon as Larsson netted the goal, he dashed to pick up the ball from the net and ran back. The Millwall players were quick and efficient, showing no inclination to waste time, while the Leeds United players ambled slowly toward the center circle. Nedved called on the referee to pay attention to the time-wasting by the opponents, arguing that additional stoppage time should be allocated.
The entire stadium rose to their feet.
The previous three minutes of stoppage time had long elapsed.
No one knew when the referee would finally blow the final whistle.
Leeds kicked off, passing the ball backwards, but Millwall's players charged forward to pressure. The opposing defenders cleared the ball deep into Millwall's half.
That clearance packed a punch—high and slow—allowing the ball to fall just as the referee's whistle pierced the air.
The match was over.
Leeds United, aiming to stay up, left Lion's Den unscathed.
In a strict sense, Millwall was the one that forced an equalizer against the visiting Leeds United in the dying moments of the match. After dropping two points in this round, Millwall now trails Manchester United by two points, who achieved an overwhelming 5-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, and five points behind Newcastle United, who narrowly defeated Southampton. With only two rounds left in the league, Millwall's chances of winning the championship have become virtually nonexistent.
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