Chapter 71

The Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams, was deathly silent!

The Manchester United fans were stunned, and even many of those who had arrived late were still looking for their seats, standing in the aisles, staring blankly at the pitch.

The few thousand Millwall fans were also stunned.

It seemed like everything was unreal.

Did we score?

So quickly?

Is this real?

The commentators, Gray and Taylor, had been talking a lot at the start of the live broadcast, and both were about to take a break for a drink, but they didn't expect the goal to come so quickly. They quickly started their passionate commentary into the microphone.

"Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Millwall scored on their first attack! Let's take a closer look at the goal. Nedved passed the ball in the center, Schneider received it and didn't try to break through. Irwin didn't rush in, and Butt was running over to help. But Schneider's long pass sent the ball into the penalty area. The cunning Larsson ran ahead, drawing Pallister to him, creating a large gap in the center for Manchester United. Oh, Bruce is old, we have to admit, he's old! When the ball was almost in the penalty area, he realized he had to turn and run back to block Trezeguet. Trezeguet used a beautiful diving header to break the deadlock, and Schmeichel had no chance. It was too close, even if the ball flew over his head. Is this Millwall? Unbelievable!"

"The official statistics haven't come out yet, but we can confirm through the replay that this goal was scored between 7 and 8 seconds. Without a doubt, this is the fastest goal in Premier League history. The young Trezeguet has the potential to become a great striker. The young Millwall, Alan Hansen was half right, someone will be scared, but it definitely won't be Millwall. Martin, was this goal a fluke?"

"Andy, I disagree with the fluke theory. Absolutely not. By analyzing the positioning of the Millwall players, this was undoubtedly an excellent attack. They just scored on their first attempt, and it was Manchester United who conceded. Fans can comfort themselves by calling it a fluke, but I believe this shows Millwall's strength."

Trezeguet ran like the wind towards the away team's bench, and Millwall's teammates rushed to him. They had every reason to be excited, to celebrate wildly. This was the Premier League stage, this was Old Trafford!

Aldridge raised his arms in triumph. Seeing the goal, he was also overwhelmed with excitement, but he managed to control himself.

Seeing Trezeguet run over, Aldridge didn't dodge. Trezeguet jumped in front of him, and Aldridge caught him, stepping back. Fortunately, Jensen and Babu supported him from behind, or he might have fallen backward.

The other players also rushed over, hugging together, shouting and roaring to celebrate this goal that would be etched in history.

Because this was the first Premier League goal in Millwall's club history.

Whether it would remain the fastest goal record in the future was uncertain, but it would certainly stay in the fans' memories for a long time.

After the celebration, Aldridge clenched his teeth and asked the players in a low voice, "Now we're leading, what should we do? Remember what I said before the game?"

Trezeguet, Nedved, Larsson, Schneider, and others answered in unison, "We remember!"

No mercy, crush Manchester United completely!

"Good, go! We won't stop until the game is over!"

Aldridge didn't let the lead go to his head. At this moment, if he lost his composure, this goal would not be an advantage but a harbinger of defeat.

The Millwall players walked to the halfway line with high morale. They wouldn't take Aldridge's words lightly. Last season had already proven Aldridge's coaching ability, and in the pre-match meeting the day before, Aldridge had analyzed the game very clearly. Their tactics were working.

"Manchester United are the champions and runners-up of the last three Premier League seasons. They are the undisputed strong team. Therefore, in the Premier League, especially at Old Trafford, most teams will focus on defense when they come here. Manchester United will control the game at their pace. They are used to facing enemies with a high posture. We need to catch them off guard, from the first minute, we need to speed up the game. They think we, as a newly promoted team, will be restrained or nervous. Wrong! We will kick them off their comfortable position and make them chase us!"

After the opening, without any probing, the Millwall players firmly executed Aldridge's tactics, and in return, they scored a goal in 8 seconds!

The Manchester United players were already prepared to kick off. Their expressions were normal, just a bit more serious.

They were Manchester United. If they were to be crushed or mentally broken by a poor start like conceding a goal, they wouldn't be the Red Devils, and they wouldn't deserve to wear the Manchester United jersey.

Ferguson didn't even move after the goal, still sitting in his seat, chewing gum. He had been in this position for nine years, and this was his tenth year. If he had to run to the sidelines and shout every time Manchester United conceded a goal, he would have been fired long ago.

Controlling the team, instilling the Red Devils' spirit, and the ability to self-adjust were not just about the players' skills on the field.

One could even say that during the Ferguson era, Manchester United didn't necessarily have the most outstanding players on the field, but their strong mental attributes made many ordinary players possess a regal aura and become more tactically proficient in team play.

Manchester United restarted the game. Because they conceded first, they didn't bother with probing or gradually building up pressure. They quickly set up their attack, playing their strongest two-winged attack!

Thuram somewhat underestimated the young Manchester United players on the wings. On his side, he faced the new Welsh king, 21-year-old Giggs.

When Giggs used a change of direction and acceleration to get past Thuram, Thuram realized how foolish he had been!

Especially after Aldridge had specifically instructed him about Giggs before the game.

Thuram's underestimation was subconscious, but he quickly corrected it, sliding in from the side to kick the ball away from Giggs.

Aldridge, watching from the sidelines, didn't say anything. According to Thuram's usual defensive style, he would have directly stuck to Giggs and used his body to prevent the change of direction and acceleration. But he could quickly adjust and not be completely outmaneuvered, which showed that he had not lost his composure.

Millwall's midfield retreated deeply because Manchester United applied a lot of pressure in the middle and forward areas, even though Manchester United couldn't find good shooting opportunities.

At this point, Millwall truly experienced the pace of the Premier League.

The players' footwork was a significant step up from the First Division, with speed, ball movement, and especially long-range passing. Any small gap would be seized by Manchester United. Beckham's long passes on the right, Keane's central coordination, and Giggs' breakthroughs made the Millwall defenders run around frantically.

Manchester United's two-winged attack was very mature and relied on midfield coordination. Their control of the pace was unmatched by other Premier League teams.

The ball was transferred longitudinally much more frequently than horizontally.

Giggs passed to the center, where Butt received it and passed to Keane, who then passed to Beckham. Beckham passed to the retreating Cole, who couldn't turn, and the ball was passed back to Giggs on the wing.

This large-scale longitudinal transfer, like a swinging pendulum, fully utilized the width of the pitch. This would inevitably cause the opponent's formation to tilt towards the side where the ball was. When the opponent's formation couldn't keep up with Manchester United's ball transfer speed, gaps would appear, and the threat of the two-winged attack would increase dramatically.

Relying on a single line, whether the midfield or the defense, to cover the 70 to 80 yards width of the pitch was unrealistic. More defensive players were needed to cover the gaps during the longitudinal transfers.

Therefore, Millwall's two wings, Pires and Schneider, retreated very deep in defense, and Nedved and Makelele formed a barrier in front of the defense. Expecting Makelele to single-handedly cover the width and stop Manchester United's attacks was a dream.

Although Manchester United had the advantage, Giggs and Beckham's several crosses from the wings were not very effective. Southgate and Stam dominated the air, and Cole, when he moved out of the penalty area, couldn't turn with the ball under Makelele's interference, and his passing was poor.

After Millwall contained Manchester United's attacks, they tried to counter-attack a few times by passing the ball to Nedved, but it didn't work. Keane, despite his reputation as a tough player, had strong defensive skills, and with Butt, who was more defensive, Manchester United firmly controlled the midfield. When their attacks were blocked, they would immediately regain possession and reorganize.

After ten minutes, Millwall might have realized the pace and strength of the Premier League teams. Nedved couldn't receive the ball in the midfield, turn, and organize an attack. The slow start of Manchester United at the beginning wouldn't happen again.

When Makelele intercepted the ball from Giggs, who had cut in from the wing, he didn't pass it to Nedved because Keane was waiting behind Nedved to intercept. Makelele passed the ball to the left wing.

The young Neil, with a clear head, knew that since the ball was at his feet and not Nedved's, Millwall's counter-attack needed to change.

Before Beckham could press, Neil passed the ball to Pires ahead and then quickly moved forward.

Beckham, like last season when Millwall faced Middlesbrough, turned to press Pires but found that Pires and Neil had completed a simple one-two, fooling him.

Neil's forward run was unexpected by Manchester United. Beckham was left behind, and Keane had to leave Nedved to start defending. He chased Neil, but Neil and Pires had a默契配合 (默契配合 means默契配合, which can be translated as "a默契配合" or "a默契配合"). Keane couldn't even touch the ball as Pires dribbled into Manchester United's half.

Neville came to block, and Pires passed the ball to Neil. Keane prepared to tackle, but Neil let the ball go, and it landed in front of the rapidly advancing Nedved.

Before Butt could intercept, Nedved passed the ball into the penalty area without stopping it.

After Millwall's counter-attack crossed the halfway line, Bruce closely followed Trezeguet. He wouldn't make the same mistake again.

But before Nedved's pass, Nedved moved to the left, and Bruce followed him involuntarily. He was shocked to see the ball pass behind him into the penalty area, and in his peripheral vision, he saw a deep blue shadow behind him.

Trezeguet and Larsson's cooperation was almost perfect. They wouldn't fight for the same spot or overlap positions. In the attack, one would feint to draw the defense, while the other would be the one to score.

This time, Trezeguet drew Bruce's attention, and Larsson started to run diagonally into the penalty area, with Pallister following closely. But Larsson's characteristic was to be direct and efficient.

He didn't stop the ball from Nedved's pass but immediately shot with a powerful strike. Pallister only saw the ball after it was already in the air.

Schmeichel guessed the direction correctly, diving to his left, stretching his body to the maximum, but his fingertips couldn't reach the ball.

Turning his head, his eyes wide with disbelief, he saw the ball hit the back of the net on the other side.

At 12 minutes, Millwall led 2-0 away to Manchester United!

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